Haunted Essence
by Praevisum
Summary: AU. Yaoi. Duo & Heero work for a museum and rescue artifacts from the socially royal. Craziness ensues when Duo finds a mysterious painting, Quatre starts entering trancelike states and Heero starts hallucinating, or is he really seeing ghosts?
1. Taking Over Me

****

**Summary:** Alright, Duo and Heero are "antique rescuers" for a museum that houses belongings of the socially "royal" deceased, meaning those individuals who had great social status and were important benefactors of the town in which they resided. However, the new house they are assigned to is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Carl Baxter, the deceased head of estate. Craziness ensues when Duo finds a mysterious painting of a boy, Quatre starts entering trancelike states and Heero starts hallucinating, or is he really seeing ghosts?

**Warnings:** AU. OOC. (Look, if it's AU there is going to be some OOC to an extent because they're no longer the same character). Yaoi (meaning gay relationships), 1x2x1 and implied 3x4 & 5xM, dark, angst, violence, implied sex (past-tense rape), death, language…Oh, and it's a song fic…but you don't have to read the song lyrics if you don't want to. And there's some original characters in there.

**Disclaimer:** I do _not_ own the Gundam boys, nor do I really want to. Honestly. Everyone says they wish they owned them, but then everyone would be coming to me to buy them from me. I wouldn't get a moments rest. So, no, I'm not making profit off this. And besides, borrowing them from time to time is just as fun as owning them, I would imagine. I also don't own the chapter titles. They're the name of the according song in the chapter, all owned by Evanescence. OH! And you may find traces of a small mini-series called Rose Red and a PlayStation 2 video game Fatal Frame (I and II). However, I do _not_ own them either, I don't even own legal copies!  
**HOWEVER**, I do own my original characters. Any character that does not appear in any series, movie or manga is mine. Yes, that's right, all M-I-N-E.  
  
P.S. Format is screwing up so [x][x] is my little symbol for scene/setting changes, okay?

* * *

**Haunted Essence  
By Praevisum**

_"You don't remember me but I remember you_

_I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you  
  
_

_but who can decide what they dream?  
  
_

_and dream I do..."_

  
**Chapter I: Taking Over Me****  
**  
"Heero, really. You're not very good at jokes." 

Duo Maxwell stood in the stained oak doorframe, leaning his forearm against the hard wood for support as one leg was crossed over the other. His bright, and signatured, violaceous eyes bore into Heero, who sat on a very old Victorian styled chair carefully packing away dusty antiques. Duo's small, yet round, mouth was not in its usual smiling pose as seriousness graced his jovial features.

Puzzled, Heero Yuy looked up from his half filled cardboard box; his own perse eyes met with Duo's and, instantly, he knew his partner was ridden with agitation.

"What are you talking about?" Heero shook his head in a futile attempt to remove his coffee coloured hair out of his eyes.

"This." Duo reached for a painting that leaned against the wall next to him. Holding it up, and walking into the library towards a very confused Heero, he turned it around so the painting was visible.

"Holy shit." Heero slowly stood from the floral-patterned tapestry-like Victorian chair and gently pushed the cardboard box away with his foot. He gapped at the painting Duo beheld as he continued towards it for closer inspection. No closer inspection needed; it was unreal.

The strokes of the paintbrush left the slate coloured background with an almost scratched effect; a possibility it was done in acrylic. The white lines contrasted with the slate effectively, like a backsplash. However, it was neither the beautiful strokes nor the colour that caught Heero's eye. Someone, for whatever reason, had painted a picture of Duo! It was an unmistakably, and unremarkably, well done painting of the braided boy who stood in front of him. The cocoa plait, that was Duo's, was draped across the boy's shoulder, hanging down his chest. The hue of those majestic eyes, liked Duo's, changed at every angle, adding depth to their rareness. Even the paled heart-shaped face blushed at the same spot on the cheek, and the rouge lips were of the same roundness and softness. The only difference between the painting and Duo were their garb. The Duo in the painting was adorned in a white doublet, that hung loosely, and the real Duo wore a simple pair of blue jeans and a black T-shirt.

"Don't 'holy shit' me, Heero. This isn't funny."

"You think _I_ did that?"

Duo just stood there, his lips pushed tightly together in a scolding scowl as he held the painting in the air. Something caught his eye, something reflective. Duo brought the picture frame closer for inspection and noted a rectangular tarnished silver plate fastened onto the bottom of the frame. Engraved, though barely visible through the scratch marks, was the name Kallias Tyrrell.

"And you're not very good at making up names, either."

Heero snorted. "Yeah? And I'm not _that_ good at painting, either. Duo, I didn't do that. When would I have time to paint that and hide it wherever you found it? I've been down here the whole time packing up those." Heero pointed to the box beside the chair he was previously occupying, and two other boxes near that one, packed with books and such.

"Whatever." Duo, propping the painting against the doorframe, rolled his eyes at Heero's back as the Asian boy retreated to the chair to finish his work. "When are the others going to get here, cuz I'm not doing this house alone."

"Dunno." Heero looked to his wristwatch. "They're late, and that's very unlike them."

"Thinking something happened?"

Heero nodded. "It's possible they broken down. After all, Trowa refuses to trade in that beat-up jeep of his."

"Want me to call?"

Heero leaned backwards in the chair, grabbing and unclipping the cellular phone that was attached to his belt. Tossing the phone to Duo, Heero reached for the antique clock that was on the stand next to him, wrapped it in newspaper and placed it in the box.

Duo caught the phone with ease, and stared perplexed at the display screen.

"We're not that far away from town, are we?"

Heero looked up from the crystal vase he was wrapping and darkened his perse eyes at Duo.

"No. Why?"

"Oh…cuz, it's roaming…and out of service area." Duo shrugged, tossing the phone back at Heero who caught it with fluid graceful movements. "That's probably why the guys didn't call us—"

"That doesn't make sense. We're only five minutes from town." Heero stood from the chair, staring at the display screen of his cell phone. "It must be all the trees here. Well, go put that creepy painting away and we'll go for a drive, see if maybe they're on the side of the road somewhere."

Duo sighed and nodded, picking up the painting and disappearing down the hallway. "I still think you did it."

Heero rolled his eyes at his insufferable braided partner. Duo was the type to be adamant in his convictions and it didn't matter what evidence disputed his convictions, he thought they were right regardless.

"Whatever!" Heero retorted, his echo traveling down the hallway Duo had vanished into as he approached the doorway.

Vanished. Where did he go, anyway? There were no doors down the section of the hallway Duo had traveled down, so where did he go? Heero furrowed his brows as he stared at the vacant hallway, as if expecting Duo to materialize out of thin air. With a shrug, Heero returned to the library and grabbed his coat off the small couch near the bookshelf.

"Ready?"

Heero jumped slightly as he whipped around to face Duo's somber expression. Frowning, Heero nodded.

"Yeah, but…where did you say you found that painting, again?"

"Upstairs," Duo stated as they walked into the hallway. "Right up those stairs there." He pointed to a little niche at the end of the hallway Heero hadn't spotted before. "Why? Gunna admit you did it?"

Heero rolled his eyes. "No, because I _didn't_ do it."

He stared suspiciously at the stairwell. He was positive that, when he looked down the hallway just seconds before, it hadn't been there. Nothing had been there. Shaking his head of his thoughts, he proceeded to the door, reaching for the handle.

"Shit. I forgot my keys." With a sigh, Heero returned to the library, Duo in tow. "Where did I leave them?"

"There." Duo pointed to the ledge of the large bay window on the left side of the room.

Frowning, Heero walked over to the ledge and grabbed his keys. He couldn't remember placing them there, however. Shaking his head again, he turned to Duo only to hear a loud tang come from behind him. With a sharp turn, he swiveled on the spot to find a lightly shaking window, as if it had just been hit with something.

"What was that?" Duo assumed a position next to Heero, staring out the window, looking for the culprit of the noise.

"Don't know."

[x][x]

"All the doors are locked." Wufei Chang, or rather, Chang Wufei, rounded the corner of the house, his short raven pony-tail flat against the middle of his back, and approached his two coworkers, his coal eyes looking them over.

Trowa Barton stood tall in front of the large bay window as his emerald green eyes glazed over the two figures inside the inaccessible mansion. He quickly glanced at the puzzled Wufei, seeing the boy through his dark brown hair that hung over one side of his face.

"It's as if they can't see us."

Trowa pointed to the two almost frightened figures of Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell standing inside the library of the house of which they were desperately trying to find an entrance into. Reaching up, Trowa tapped on the glass pane once more. Inside, Trowa could see Duo and Heero jump and stare wide-eyed at the spot where he had tapped.

"I don't get it, either." A small blonde piped up.

Standing next to Trowa, Quatre Raberba Winner stared up at the window just as perplexed as the boys with him. His azure eyes landed on the figures in the window, wondering why he seemed to go unnoticed by his friends.

[x][x]

"You know, Heero, they say this place is haunted." Duo took a few tentative steps away from the window that seemed to be moving of its own accord.

"Normally, I'd laugh and ask who they are…but right about now, I'm starting to think they were right." Heero assumed a spot next to Duo, who was still backing away. "Want to just forget about this assignment?"

Duo nodded as he quickly glanced at Heero before refocusing his gaze upon the middle pane of the big bay window. "And, ya know what? I'm startin' to think you really didn't do that painting."

"I didn't!" It came out more frustrated than Heero had wanted, and he quickly glanced at Duo hoping the boy realized he hadn't meant to snap.

"Okay, okay. I believe you. Sheesh."

[x][x]

"HEERO! DUO!"

Startled, both Wufei and Trowa turned to their petite friend who stood on tiptoes, hands formed around his mouth like a megaphone.

"What? I thought that, if they can't see us, maybe they could hear us."

Shrugging, Trowa turned back to the window where neither boy inside made any sign of having heard Quatre's bellowing call.

"Didn't work, Quat. What if…" Trowa bent down where a large stone was by his shoe, and picked it up.

"I don't think they'd appreciate—GET OUT!" Suddenly, the blonde's azure eyes rolled into the back of his head as his fine features paled. His voice, which was no longer his, deepened greatly and sounded angry.

Fearing for Quatre's safety, Trowa dropped the stone and caught the boy as he began to sway to the side. Confusion and fear gripped both Trowa and Wufei as all they could do was stand helplessly by as Quatre, having broken into a cold sweat, began sputtering more words.

"Leave now, before it is too late to save your souls. You have reached an outer realm of destiny that you could not even begin to comprehend. Take charge of your own fate, and leave these grounds immediately. Tonight, at the peak of the full moon, no soul shall escape the web of which they have found themselves in." The voice became raspy, then, and Quatre's shuddering became more violent. "I beseech you to leave these grounds. Save your souls, leave the others. They are beyond reaching."

"Quatre, Quatre, snap out of it. Quatre!"

Slowly, Quatre's trembling quelled and his eyes refocused, locking onto a panicked Trowa. He could feel himself sag into the boy who held him, and the weight of his almost feather light body actually caused both boys to tumble to the ground.

"What the hell is going on around here?" Trowa held tightly the boy who shook in his arms. "Are you alright, Quat?"

"I..f-ffeel s-sso c-ccol-cold." Quatre's jaw began chattering as he wrapped his arms around his upper torso trying to bring upon some body heat. "I…I f-felt s-ssome-one…ins-sside of m-mm-meeee."

"I know, Quatre, but it's alright now. We'll figure this out." Trowa softly began to caress the side of Quatre's face, trying to calm the boy. Turning to Wufei, concern gripped his eyes.

"We need to get Maxwell and Yuy and leave." Wufei looked down at the rock that Trowa had dropped and picked it up. Standing away from the window a few feet, Wufei launched the stone and smashed the window.

[x][x]

"AH!" Startled, Duo screamed as the window shattered and a rock flew into the library, landing on the floor a foot away from Duo's shoe. "Heero, let's get the fuck outta here, quick!"

Heero, however, was too busy staring puzzled at the figure standing outside the window to follow Duo's advice of leaving. For a moment, he swore Wufei, one of his fellow coworkers and friends, was standing outside the window staring at him. However, Heero didn't have time to dwell upon the image as the glass shards on the floor quickly vanished, and the window began to grow, sewing itself back together until it was one solid pane again.

"H-heero…did…did…the window…do what I think…it just did?" Duo stood, flabbergasted, staring at the previously broken window that appeared as if it were new, which in a sense it was.

Duo knew what he just witnessed was impossible, but he also knew that his eyes didn't deceive him. On the floor near his foot still sat the rock of which had flown into the window and he slowly bent down to pick it up. Turning to Heero, mouth open and eyes bugging, he slowly shook his head.

"This is un-fucking-real, man. Let's go…now! Heero? Heero!"

Frightened out of his trance, Heero turned to Duo who stood at a quarter turn, facing him but obviously eager to leave the room.

"I saw Wufei. He was standing right outside the window before it…before it did what it did." He marched towards the windowpane in quick strides and examined the glass.

[x][x]

"What the fuck?! Trowa…did you see…shit. What the _hell_ is going on around this place?!"

Wufei and Trowa both stared at the window, jaws dropped and eyes disbelieving. The window that Wufei effectively smashed into pieces was now whole again, as if he never touched it.

"I-it'sss haunt-ted," Quatre informed, still shaking in Trowa's arms.

"I gathered that, Quatre." Wufei remarked snidely, still gaping at the window. "I think they saw us." Wufei tapped Trowa's shoulder as Heero began to approach the window. "Heero saw us."

"Heero, I'm not sure that's a good idea. I don't think it's safe. I'm pretty sure—"

"Shut it, will you? I saw Wufei. He was standing right there." Heero pointed to the spot where he had seen the raven-haired boy as Duo took a stand next to him. "Maybe…" Looking around the room, Heero caught sight of a wooden candleholder. Grabbing it, he cocked his arm back and threw it at the window, smashing it again.

Instantly, the figures of Wufei, Trowa and a trembling Quatre took form in front of the broken window.

"Heero! We can't get inside. The door is—"

Wufei's words were cut short as the windowpane began to sew itself back together once again.

"The door is…what? Duo, did you lock the door?"

Shaking his head, Duo spoke, "No. But, I'll go check, just in case I did."

Turning, Duo darted out of the room and entered the hallway, only to stop, still visible by Heero. His eyes flew open and his rose dusted cheeks drained of all colour as his mouth opened and closed, as if trying to sputter words. Stumbling backwards a few steps, his panicked voice was a high shrill. "HEERO!"

Quickly, Heero turned and ran to the doorway where Duo stood, almost trembling with fright.

"What is it?!"

Duo didn't speak, just pointed to the door, or rather, where the door would have been. In its place was just wall, as if the door had never been there. Heero's perse eyes flew open as an icy cold flooded his body.

"What's going on? What the _fuck_ is going on?!"

"I don't know but…I just wanna get outta here."

There was a knocking on the window once again, and, jumping, Heero turned and realized his friends were still outside. Running back to the window, he looked around for something else to smash it with. Finding a paperweight (which wouldn't serve much purpose anyway) he again threw it at the window, successfully shattering the entire pane.

"THERE'S NO FUCKING DOOR! It's gone!" Heero stared at his friends.

"Jump out!" Trowa commanded. "Get out of that house, now."

Suddenly, Quatre grew very rigid in Trowa's arms and began to quake once more. His eyes rolled backwards, and he once again began to sweat as his voice grew deeper and raspy.

"Leave the two trapped souls be. The powers have destined for them to stay where they are. There is no escaping what shall transpire during the full moon. I command thee to leave!" As if mentally snapping, Quatre turned to Trowa and reached for his neck. Thin, ivory digits wrapped themselves around tanned skin and squeezed as his mouth opened once again. "Blood will be shed when the moon peaks. LEAVE THOSE TRAPPED SOULS AND FLEE!"

Carefully prying Quatre's icy fingers from his neck, Trowa managed to free himself from their tight grasp as Heero stood by shocked. Slowly, the window began to sew itself back together. It seemed the more damage done, the longer it took to repair itself. Reaching for a book that was on the shelf next to him, Heero whipped it at the window and once again shattered the glass that was repairing itself, the book narrowly missing Wufei's head as it sailed through the air.

Quatre had once again been reduced to a sagging mass in Trowa's arms, trembling and stuttering.

"Forget this. Duo, let's go." Heero grasped the side of the glassless windowpane and placed his foot on the bottom ledge, preparing to jump, when he quickly recoiled, a look of pain gracing his features.

"What is it?" Duo asked, stepping towards Heero and placing a shaking hand on his shoulder.

"My hands and foot! They burn!" Heero brought his hands out in front of him and saw they blistered. He could only imagine that his foot now bore the same wounds as the pain seared through his body.

"We can't leave, can we?" Duo's voice sounded choked and hollow as he stared at Heero's wounded hands. "We're trapped. WE'RE FUCKING TRAPPED!"

Staring at his two friends, the wheels in Wufei's head turned as he then surveyed his surroundings.

The autumn leaves had fallen from the trees and covered the ground in a light brown, red and topaz patterned quilt. The trees above swayed in the light wind, leering ominously. A chipping fountain of Diana posed in a pit of cement (the water had long since dried up) in the middle of the walk in front of the large wrought iron gate behind them. A chill crept upon his spine as he shuddered involuntarily, dodging another flying book courtesy of Heero's new window smashing habit. Wufei would've very much liked to leave, but refused to leave without his coworkers and companions. A man of integrity and justice, Wufei decided that there was no way to devise a plan to help Heero and Duo escape if they were divided. So, testing the plan that was brewing in his brain, Wufei grabbed onto the glassless windowpane and waited for a second. When no burning sensation gripped his hand, he hoisted himself up and through the window.

"WUFEI!" Duo shouted as he launched himself at his friend. "What are you doing? You'll get trapped too!"

"Five minds are better than two. You're staying, we're staying…or, I'm staying." Wufei turned back and gave Trowa a questioning glance.

With a nod of understanding, Trowa managed to pick up the trembling lump in his lap, and stand Quatre on his feet. It took a great effort to get the thin and lightweight boy through the windowsill, but Trowa and Wufei managed it. Then, as Trowa began to climb in, the window suddenly began to repair itself at a rate much too fast.

"Trowa!"

Heero didn't have time to reach for another book and smash the window before the glass began to close itself around Trowa. The glass dug into his shin and cut downwards as Trowa quickly pulled himself through the window, landing on the floor of the library with a loud thud.

Rushing over to the aid of his friend, a shaken Quatre (who was still pale and sweaty) squeaked in worry as he examined Trowa's damaged leg.

"A-are there any-any m-medical supplies?" Azure eyes scanned the faces of Heero and Duo, who shrugged their shoulders.

"I'll go check, okay?" Duo turned on his heels and, walking towards the doorway, disappeared down the hallway. He was only gone for a few minutes when he returned with a white box marked with a large red cross. "Found this. Here."

Quatre took the offered box with shaking hands, and fumbled with the safety before snapping it open.

"Maybe…maybe I should do that, Quatre." Wufei kneeled next to the blonde, gently but firmly taking the box from his hands. "You should relax after what…what happened anyway?"

"I…I don't know. I still feel…so shaken. It was so…so cold." Quatre nodded his head in appreciation as Duo draped a blanket, one that had been on the back of the sofa in the corner, over Quatre's shoulders. "I felt, as if someone was inside me. I know it sounds stupid, but I think I was…possessed."

Heero gave a light snort. "Nothing sounds stupid right about now, Quatre."

Just then, a sudden chill consumed Heero and quivered down his spine. He trembled slightly before regaining composure, but the hairs on the back of his neck were on end. Slowly, he turned around and stared at the doorway where he swore, for a split second, flashed a man in a brown corduroy vest and caramel slacks. However, within a blink the hallucination vanished and Heero was left staring at the spot where the man stood.

_"Have you forgotten all I know  
  
And all we had?  
  
_

_You saw me mourning my love for you  
  
_

_And touched my hand  
  
I knew you loved me then…"_

**TBC**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Woot. Chapter one is complete. I hope it was enjoyable, because I honestly feel this is one of my better works and I just love writing it. I've always been intrigued by the spiritual, mystical, supernatural stuff so I thought I'd write a fic containing these elements. Anyhoo, I'd like to thank my beta **Reve Shisouena **and my cousin **Nobara** and her dear friend **Die Spitze** because we did a lot of brainstorming for this one. 

One last note before I depart. This fic should be around seven chapters long, as that is the amount of songs I have found that best carries out the plot line to some poetic and analytical extent. You'll notice that not all lyrics fit the song the same way, but I do feel that the lyrics I have chosen best describe what is happening within the characters themselves. However, although I'm planning this to be a shorter sized story, it may take me a while to get it out. I am currently working crazy obscene amounts of hours at my restaurant so, by the time I get this to and back from my beta, there may be big gaps between each chapter.


	2. Bring Me To Life

**Summary:** Alright, Duo and Heero are "antique rescuers" for a museum that houses belongings of the socially "royal" deceased, meaning those individuals who had great social status and were important benefactors of the town in which they resided. However, the new house they are assigned to is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Carl Baxter, the deceased head of estate. Craziness ensues when Duo finds a mysterious painting of a boy, Quatre starts entering trancelike states and Heero starts hallucinating, or is he really seeing ghosts?

**Warnings:** AU. OOC. (Look, if it's AU there is going to be some OOC to an extent because they're no longer the same character). Yaoi (meaning gay relationships), 1x2x1 and implied 3x4 & 5xM, dark, angst, violence, implied sex (past-tense rape), death, language…Oh, and it's a song fic…but you don't have to read the song lyrics if you don't want to. And there's some original characters in there.

**Disclaimer:** I do _not_ own the Gundam boys, nor do I really want to. Honestly. Everyone says they wish they owned them, but then everyone would be coming to me to buy them from me. I wouldn't get a moments rest. So, no, I'm not making profit off this. And besides, borrowing them from time to time is just as fun as owing them, I would imagine. I also don't own the chapter titles. They're the name of the according song in the chapter, all owned by Evanescence. OH! And you may find traces of a small mini-series called Rose Red and a PlayStation 2 video game Fatal Frame (I and II). However, I do _not_ own them, either. I don't even own legal copies!  
**HOWEVER**, I do own my original characters. Any character that does not appear in any series, movie or manga is mine. Yes, that's right, all M-I-N-E.

* * *

**Haunted Essence  
By Praevisum**

_"__I've become so numb without a soul my spirit sleeping somewhere cold _

_Until you find it there and lead it back home wake me up inside…_

_Call my name and save me from the dark…_

_Save me from the nothing I've become..."_

**  
  
Chapter II: Bring me to Life**

"Okay, let's figure this out logically—" 

"There _is_ no logic to this." Duo slumped against the wall next to the doorframe, resting his head against the dresser next to him. He stared unblinkingly at Wufei, who was putting the used first aid kit on the study desk.

Quatre was seated with the injured Trowa on the couch near the bookshelf at the back of the room, one blanket shared between the two of them. Heero, who was in the chair he had previously occupied while packing earlier, looked from Duo to Wufei, who stood leaning on the study desk.

"Yes, but there must be some sort of—"

"Logical explanation?"

Wufei nodded.

"No. There's not." Duo lifted his head only to smack it against the hard wood surface next to him. "This house is haunted, and we're trapped in the middle of it. There's no logic in that."

"Did anyone else here what Quatre said when … when he was…"

"Possessed?" Duo interjected.

"Yeah." Trowa nodded. "It just sounds so … weird."

The other four nodded.

"Well, I heard it. We have until midnight to figure this out before … blood is shed and Heero and Duo possibly become a permanent fixture of this house." Wufei pushed off the desk. "I'd suggest just leaving, but that's obviously not an option."

"Really? I hadn't guessed that." Heero looked down to his newly bandaged hands. "But, you're right, Wufei. This is nothing more than a mere puzzle we have to complete. Only then will we see the way out of all of this."

"Agreed. Let's assemble all the pieces, shall we?" Earnestly, and obviously recovered, Quatre sat straightened up on the couch.

"Well, it started with the painting." Duo looked to Heero. "Yeah, yeah, it started with that."

"What painting?" Quatre inquired, his brows furrowed.

"It's, well … I'll just go get it. It's hard to explain." Duo stood and stretched, preparing to leave the room.

"Wait. I'll go with you."

Not entirely understanding the fear that crept over him at the prospect of Duo wandering these haunted halls alone, Heero stood and followed Duo.

Not wanting to admit he was relieved that he didn't have to venture off into the house alone, because that would mean he wasn't macho, Duo simply nodded as he led Heero down the hallway. Looking over his shoulder at the patch of wall where the door should have been, he shook his head.

"Hard to believe something is actually powerful enough to make the door disappear, even though I'm staring at it."

Unsure as to whether the powerful something Duo was referring to was the illusion Heero saw earlier, he turned his head sharply. Relieved, or rather, worried that he may have been hallucinating, Heero just nodded.

"What's a matter? You seem jumpy. Mr. Cold-and-Distant isn't losing his cool so quickly, is he?" Duo ascended the stairs at the end of the hallway.

"Losing _my_ cool? Must I remind you, Maxwell, that you lost your cool when you found the painting and you're the one who freaked when the door disappeared."

"Oh, you were shitting bricks about the door, too."

"I'll admit I was alarmed, but not nearly as vocal as you were."

"Can it."

Heero smirked as they reached the upstairs landing. He found it highly amusing, though immature, when he got under Duo's skin like he was doing now.

Duo led Heero halfway down the hallway. Heero found it odd that there didn't seem to be any doors along any sides of the hallway. Duo stopped walking, however, and reached for a doorknob to the left that Heero, through all his abilities to care for detail, hadn't noticed.

The room was huge. The walls were a dirty yellow, but at spots, where Duo had moved some furniture, it was possible to tell that the walls were once white. Most of the room was packed away in box after box that littered the floor. Obviously, Duo had been working very diligently before his discovery of the painting. In the middle of the room, of which atop sat the painting, was an overly large canopy bed in emerald green, its curtains pulled back.

"This is … this is where they say the owner of the house died." Duo walked over to the bed and picked up the painting of his look-alike.

"Carl Baxter?"

Duo nodded, walking back towards Heero. "Yeah, that dude. That's why I said they say this place is haunted. Cuz, he died here."

"Well, obviously _they_ are right. It's so creepy how he looks like you." Heero once again stared at the replica of Duo, amazed by its likeliness. "Right down to the eyes."

Duo looked at the painting that he held between himself and Heero. He had to admit, he didn't think it was possible for someone to paint anything remotely close to his eyes. There were just too many dimensions.

"They managed to catch every colour and angle and make them look deep, just like yours." Heero reached out and lightly touched the painting while all Duo could do was blush.

Was Heero hitting on him? He doubted it, though he couldn't contain the blush that crept over his face.

"Well, this room is creepy." Duo was glad for any excuse to get himself out of the position he found himself in. "We should get back downstairs before they send out a search party."

"Agreed, especially with Quatre's habit of worrying." Heero moved slightly out of the way in order to let Duo lead the two of them back downstairs, with the painting tucked carefully under his arm.

He wasn't quite sure why he suddenly didn't want to look Duo in the eye, but he was betting it had to do with the blush that flushed his cheeks. At first, the offhand comment about Duo's eyes was just him being truthful. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he probably spent too much time gazing into those amazing eyes.

Who could blame him, though? It wasn't as if Heero was gay, however, he wasn't blind. Gay or not, no man alive couldn't admit that Duo Maxwell was very attractive. With his dynamic and heart shaped face, exotic eyes as large as those of Middle Eastern women and hair as silken and radiant as any fair maiden in any fairy tale, Duo Maxwell was easily the most beautiful man Heero had ever known to exist. And, as strong as Duo was, his frame was never rough and masculine. Duo was not a box; he had curves. He had hips.

"Well, guys. This is it." Duo walked into the library, with Heero musing in tow. "I found this upstairs and … well, at first I thought Heero painted it as a joke." Duo flipped around the painting tucked under his arms and displayed it for his three friends to view.

Collective gasps filled the room.

"Duo!" Quatre squeaked. "It looks exactly like you!"

"We know." Heero's mind seemed to return to the topic at hand, and he joined the conversation. "But, there's a name plate on it. The person in the portrait is Kallias Tyrrell."

"I've never heard that name before. Maybe … I don't know, but perhaps he was of some relation to the head of estate." Wufei squinted his eyes in thought as he sat atop the corner of the study desk.

"But, then why do I look like him?"

"Think about it, Maxwell. He'd be awfully old if he were of relation to Baxter. What do you know of your own family?"

"Wufei, no way. If you're suggesting that I'm somehow related to this dude, you've flipped. Tyrrell, Maxwell. Yeah, they don't even … okay, so they sound the same but they're not!" Becoming disgusted with the painting, Duo placed it on the floor, propped up on the little desk by the doorway. "Besides, you're just speculating. We don't have any proof or evidence of anything right now."

"Well," Trowa shifted in his seat as he continued to speak, "if that's what started this all, I think we should trace it to its source. I'm sure there are more pieces of the puzzle. We just have to find them. You found that painting upstairs?"

Duo nodded.

"I bet there's a whole lot more upstairs where you found that. Any clue could help us figure out who he is."

"And what if the painting isn't all that important? Duo and I only have until midnight to sort this all out. If we waste valuable time—"

"No. No, Heero, Trowa's right. I have a feeling Trowa's right." Quatre tightened the blankets around him as he looked from Heero to Trowa. "I know you're right. Let's all go upstairs."

Heero sighed. "Fine. We'll all … go …" He blinked as his voice trailed off. He didn't feel right. He was suddenly aware of how loud he was breathing, and how, when he exhaled through his nose, it was cold against his upper lip. His skin became clammy as the hairs on the back of his neck rose, prickling. He vision began to blur as he turned to Duo. There were two of him. There were two Duos. One, who seemed of another era, was reaching out to the Duo he knew and … "HOLY FUCK! DUO!"

Startled, Duo jumped (as did the other three occupants of the room) as he began to panic from Heero's fear.

"What?" But, he suddenly felt coldness all around him, even though he was warm, and an icy grip clamped down on his shoulder. A soft wisp of wind fluttered past his ear as an ethereal voice filtered into it. _Let me escape in you. Set me free within you. Please, do not let him harm me. _

Heero, ignoring the gaping and confused expressions of Wufei, Quatre and Trowa, watched as the other era Duo leaned in closer from behind Duo and seemed to be whispering in his ear. Reaching out, Heero grabbed Duo by the forearms and tore him away from his other self. Knees going weak from the sudden forceful jerk, Duo collapsed into Heero's chest, knocking both boys backwards and onto the floor.

"Duo, are you okay?" Heero, concerned, cupped his bandaged hands around the face of the boy who still lay on his chest.

Slightly disorientated, Duo numbly nodded his head as he rolled off Heero's warm chest and sat. "I … could feel someone … and hear them." Duo blushed as he realized how banal he sounded. Odd things were happening, and it would only get worse. He had nothing to complain about, and no reason to make a fuss, when poor Quatre was practically reduced to seizures. Hearing a disembodied voice was no reason to fall to pieces, according to him. "But, I'm okay. Don't worry about it."

"I saw him."

Four pairs of eyes widened and focused on Heero as he, too, was sitting on the floor. Duo's mouth opened as if he was about to say something, but he closed it.

"I saw him. He touched your shoulder, and whispered into your ear. He looked like you. He looked like …" Heero's eyes focused on the painting propped up against the small side table near the doorway a few feet in front of him. "Fuck. It was him, Duo. It was Kallias."

Quatre squeaked with worry.

"Was it, Heero? Oh Duo, what was he saying to you?"

"He said …" Duo trailed off. He felt awfully stupid repeating what was whispered into his ear. It sounded too lame, too tragic, and he didn't want to further worry Quatre. "Oh, I … can't remember how he worded it. I … kinda froze. I can't remember what he said."

Heero, however, wasn't convinced.

"Well, shall we head upstairs, then?" All attention was diverted to Wufei as he walked over to the doorway of the library.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go." Duo stood up, extending a hand to help Heero.

Quatre entangled his arms around an injured Trowa to help him hobble towards the doorway. Wufei, shaking his head, walked over to Trowa and picked him up, one arm under his legs and one arm around his back as Trowa threw his arms around Wufei's neck.

"Ugh…thanks."

"Yeah." With a little smirk he followed Heero and Duo out of the library, Quatre in tow.

Walking down the empty hallway, Wufei couldn't help but wonder where he was being led. The hallways itself was a dead end, with no doors leading off to other rooms, and there certainly wasn't a staircase to lead them upstairs.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"Up those stairs," Duo pointed to the niche at the end of the hallway.

"Those…oh. Hey, they weren't there a minute ago."

"That's what I thought the first time Duo showed me the stairs, but they're there."

"What's there?" Quatre piped up from behind Wufei. "I don't see anything."

They had continued walking as they talked and were now in plain view of the staircase.

"Those stairs, Quat." Duo stood by him, grabbed his head, and turned it in the direction he needed to look.

"OH!" Quatre gasped out as a flight of stairs materialized in front of his eyes. "They weren't there and now…now they're there. How…I just don't…understand this at all. This is too creepy."

"Wait," Trowa spoke up from the arms in which he was being held, "if Heero didn't see them until he saw them…that doesn't make sense. If Wufei, Quatre and I only saw them after Duo revealed them to us then maybe…maybe you can't see them unless you are shown them, you know?"

Heero mused over this thought. Duo did in fact show him the staircase and he was certain it hadn't been there before. It would at least make a little more sense than the door disappearing and the window repairing itself. His musings, however, were cut short as Duo spoke up.

"Right now, in this house, that makes perfect sense, Tro. I just wanna figure this all out and get the hell outta here." Duo began to ascend the stairs with his friends in tow.

[x][x]

"What did he say to you, Duo?"

The five museum labourers had migrated to Baxter's bedroom where they had taken to sifting through closets, furniture and boxes for any clues to help them piece together the puzzle of which they only had approximately twelve hours to complete.

"I…ugh…" Duo's eyes scanned the room, checking to make sure no one else had heard or was trying to listen in to his conversation. Relieved that Trowa, Quatre and Wufei were working diligently on the other side of the room, Duo sat down on the corner of the four-poster and looked Heero in the eyes. "It's stupid. It's really, really stupid."

"I don't care if he told you that he likes to wear women's frilly panties. I want to know what he said to you."

Duo blinked, then laughed. That wasn't the type of thing someone said in a tone as serious as the one Heero always used.

"It's not funny. I want to know. We need to—"

"Yeah, yeah." Duo waved him off. "I know. It was just funny, what you said, about the panties."

"You're avoiding the subject." Heero took a seat next to Duo, legs slightly parted and wresting his elbows on his thighs.

"So?" All mirth had vanished from Duo's face. "It was stupid, okay? I feel stupid saying it."

"Duo, this is important. We need to figure everything out to get out of here. I won't tell the others. Just tell me."

Their eyes locked and, just by looking into the deep perse pools, Duo could feel the urgency welling inside Heero. With a sigh he brought his legs up and crossed them under him, staring at the floor.

"He said…he said, 'let me escape in you. Set me free within you. Please, do not let him harm me', okay? Happy? I sound like a lunatic."

"This is serious, you know. It sounds like Kallias is trying to use you to escape his afterlife. It would make sense, as you both look the same. But, I just don't get it. If it was Carl who I saw…"

Heero stopped speaking when he saw the look on Duo's face.

"Look, I don't know how it's happening, and I wish it wasn't. But, I'm seeing them. When, when the others came in through the window Carl was standing in the hallway. I know it was him. I just know it. I only saw him for a few seconds, but I have this gut feeling."

"Okay, so Quatre is being possessed by ghosts. I can hear ghosts speak, and you can see them? Oh, this is crazy. I'm going insane. This is—"

"Relax. It's this house; it's not you. But, the point I was trying to get at is, if it was Carl was it him who was in control of the window? Was it him that caused the door to disappear, and me to burn myself on the windowpane?"

"Do you think it was?"

Heero nodded. It seemed the only logic explanation, though he knew they were beyond logic at this point. He was positive that Carl was behind all the mysterious and dark happenings that were occurring.

"And it would make sense. Kallias is afraid of him. That's why he wants to escape."  
  
"Oh! Do you think Carl was the one who possessed Quatre?" Duo's eyes were wide with realization.

"I wouldn't doubt it."

"Are you two going to do some actual work or just sit there and chat? I didn't throw myself into this house to be trapped with you. I did it to help you get out."

"Wufei, shush." Quatre furrowed his brows at his friend before he turned back around to the bed where Duo and Heero sat. "Never mind him."

"But, Quatre," Trowa started, "Wufei does have a point."

"And that's why neither of you are romantic—"

"Hey! Meilan says—"

"It's very cute, you know, the two of them. Just leave them be." Quatre opened another box that was tucked in the closet.

"Cute?"

"Honestly, Trowa. They like each other. It's so obvious."

"Is it now Mr. Empathy?" Wufei raised both eyebrows. "Well, forgive us common folk for not catching on."

"Hey, look at all these." Trowa reached into the box that Quatre had opened, just as Quatre was reaching. Their hands touched and both boys blushed.

"For Christ's sake." Wufei rolled his eyes. "If anyone likes each other, it's you goons. Now, what do we have here?"

Biting his lip, Quatre lowered his eyes. It was true and he wouldn't deny it, but for Wufei to mention it right in front of Trowa? Well, now he was embarrassed.

"They're pictures, of Kallias."

"Hey, that's the water fountain out front." Wufei snatched a stack of pictures from the box and examined them.

Kallias was posed on the rim around the fountain, sitting at looking at the camera. He was smiling in most, but it was obvious it was forced.

"AHHHH!"

All five occupants of the room stopped what they were doing and looked at each other. None of them had screamed like that. It was high pitched and womanly. However, weren't they the only ones in the house? The door flew open and everyone jumped, except for Heero who just stared at the doorway with wide eyes.

"H-Heero?" Duo reached out and gently touched Heero's rigid arm.

Heero was unresponsive, for all he could see were women gathering at the door way with linen in their arms. One woman, a black woman with gray hair, dropped her linen and brought her arms up to her face and screamed once again. Dread filled Heero as he slowly turned towards the bed, his heart beating so fast he could feel it pound his whole body.

"Holy fuck!" His voice was paranoid and slightly shaken as he scrambled off the bed.

"What? What is it?" Duo looked perplexly at the bed, seeing nothing.

Heero just shook his head, not saying a word as he stared at the bloody corpse of Carl Baxter, sprawled out on the mattress.

_"All this time I can't believe I couldn't see  
  
_

_Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me  
  
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems  
  
Got to open my eyes to everything  
  
Without a thought without a voice without a soul  
  
Don't let me die here_

_There must be something more  
  
_

_Bring me to life"_

**TBC**

* * *

**Author's Note:** WOOT! Chapter two is done. I'd like to thank everyone I thanked in my last AN, especially my beta. I think this one is a tad bit shorter than the last one, but there's a lot of plot so no complaining. I'd like to thank my two reviewers **Long de Yungi** and **Aquarius**. I hope you'll come back and continue reading the story. As for people who read the story and don't review, thank you too. It's nice to know people actually read what I write.

I have NO idea when I'll get the next chapter out. And, even though this isn't like me because I'm such a perfectionist, I'm writing this story as I post it. So, if you find any continuity holes or such like that it's because I either wrote it and forgot about, or I've written myself into a corner and need a quick fix to get myself out. Thank you and goodnight!


	3. Haunted

**Summary:** Alright, Duo and Heero are "antique rescuers" for a museum that houses belongings of the socially "royal" deceased, meaning those individuals who had great social status and were important benefactors of the town in which they resided. However, the new house they are assigned to is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Carl Baxter, the deceased head of estate. Craziness ensues when Duo finds a mysterious painting of a boy, Quatre starts entering trancelike states and Heero starts hallucinating, or is he really seeing ghosts?

**Warnings:** AU. OOC. (Look, if it's AU there is going to be some OOC to an extent because they're no longer the same character). Yaoi (meaning gay relationships), 1x2x1 and implied 3x4 & 5xM, dark, angst, violence, implied sex (past-tense rape), death, language…Oh, and it's a song fic…but you don't have to read the song lyrics if you don't want to. And there's some original characters in there.

**Disclaimer:** I do _not_ own the Gundam boys, nor do I really want to. Honestly. Everyone says they wish they owned them, but then everyone would be coming to me to buy them from me. I wouldn't get a moments rest. So, no, I'm not making profit off this. And besides, borrowing them from time to time is just as fun as owing them, I would imagine. I also don't own the chapter titles. They're the name of the according song in the chapter, all owned by Evanescence. OH! And you may find traces of a small mini-series called Rose Red and a PlayStation 2 video game Fatal Frame (I and II). However, I do _not_ own them, either. I don't even own legal copies!  
**HOWEVER**, I do own my original characters. Any character that does not appear in any series, movie or manga is mine. Yes, that's right, all M-I-N-E.

* * *

**Haunted Essence  
By Praevisum**

_"L__ong lost words whisper slowly to me  
  
_

_Still can't find what keeps me here  
  
_

_When all this time I've been so hollow inside  
  
_

_I know you're still there"_

**Chapter III: Haunted**

"Heero! What is it?" Duo rushed over to stand right next to Heero, but still could see nothing. "Heero, answer me!" Shaking Heero's shoulders, Duo spun him around so they were face to face.

"C-car…"

"Carl?"

Heero nodded.

"What about Carl?"

"He-he's dead."

"Yuy! I'm going to kick your ass." Wufei stood up and stomped over to the bed. "Of course Carl is dead! That's not a revelation, you know."

"No. He's…he's dead. HE'S RIGHT FUCKING THERE!" Heero pointed to the bloody corpse that lay on the bed, eyes rolled into his head and mouth hanging open.

Snickering. Heero could hear snickering. He turned accusingly at his friends but saw that none of them were the culprit of the almost taunting sound. Whoever was snickering had done this to Carl.

"Duo, Carl didn't just die here." Heero had now pushed himself against a wall. "He was murdered here."

And, suddenly, just as quickly as it all had appeared, Carl's corpse (along with the women at the door and the snickering) had vanished.

"He's gone."

"Oh, brother." Wufei rolled his eyes as he turned and walked back to Trowa and Quatre, mouthing words. "I really think he's gone nuts."

Quatre frowned at Wufei. No matter how unbelievable it was, Quatre always gave his friends the benefit of the doubt. If Heero thought he saw Carl, then Heero saw Carl. Besides, seeing a ghost is more believable than being possessed by one, which Quatre had been.

"What do you mean, murdered?" Duo took a few tentative steps towards Heero, who was still pushed against the wall.

"I mean, someone killed him on that bed. He was lying there, all bloody. I could see women, maids, at the door and someone was snickering. Whoever had killed Carl laughed about it. They were really happy."

"Who do you think—"

"Wait, wait, wait." The wheels in Heero's head began to turn and, as he stared into Duo's eyes, he knew he was on to something. "Hold on a second. It's not Carl Kallias is afraid of; it's the one who killed Carl. It would make sense, wouldn't it? He already killed Carl so—"

"Yeah, but aren't we assuming too much of a relationship between Carl and Kallias?"

"Nope!" Quatre called from the other side of the room. "Come over here and look at these photos."

Heero and Duo did as requested, taking a spot on the floor near the other three and their box.

Quatre had revealed another stack of photos of Kallias near the water fountain. However, in these photos, Carl was holding Kallias close to his chest possessively, looking into his eyes as he held one of his hands, dangling down next to the both of them.

"Okay," Duo began, "so, basically, they were lovers?"

"I'm not sure about that." Wufei reached for the pictures they were previously looking at. "See, here he doesn't look too happy. It's almost as if he's being forced to be there. And, the same in these pictures with him and Carl. I'm not sure he liked Carl all that much."

"That could be the case." Trowa reached into the bottom of the box. "We could always read these to find out." He brandished a few leather bound journals.

"Oh!" Quatre squealed with delight. "If it wasn't for you two being in a life or death situation, this would be really fun." Quatre reached for one of the journals and opened it, beginning to read.

"Thanks, Quat."

"Stop being facetious, Maxwell."

"You know, you could've just said sarcastic. You only like saying that word cuz it makes you sound smart." Duo stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at Wufei.

"You know, a little education wouldn't hurt you, Maxwell."

"Yeah, but too much could kill me."

"How do you—"

"Enough." Heero cut in with a wave of his hand. "Stop bickering. You two sound like an old married couple."

At this remark, Wufei's face lit up brighter than Times Square on New Years.

"I resent that! Maxwell and I—"

"We know, we know. Meilan, right?"

"Exactly, Barton. I am a mar—"

"Guys! Check this out!" Quatre began to read aloud. "'_June twelfth, nineteen ten. Today marks the day that I have shamed my father's name. I did not intend to become attracted to a man, and I feel ashamed of it. However, every time he walks by I cannot contain my flustered self. He is an enigma. _

_At first I was not aware that he was male. In fact, not many are if he is looked at from afar. He has a very feminine physique. He is beautiful. I must distract myself from him, somehow. Until next time, Carl U. Baxter._'"

"I feel dirty somehow." Duo scrunched up his nose. "And offended. Do I look like a chick from afar?"

No one answered, and that did little to quell Duo's frustration.

"If it makes you feel better," Heero started as he noticed Duo's temper begin to rise, "I have never once mistaken you for a woman."

"Are you just saying that?"

Wufei made a loud sigh of annoyance, and rose to his feet.

"Back and forth and back and forth. No one can stay on task without breaking off and starting an

off topic conversation."

"It was closely correlated."

"See? Does it matter, Maxwell? We have a lot of work to do so let's just stop talking and get to it."

"And where are you going, then?" Duo looked rather indignant as he placed his hands on his hips, looking much like a sugar pot as he sat on the floor.

"If you must know, to relieve myself."

"You're going to jerk off—"

"Good god no, Maxwell! I have to use the facilities!"

Duo clutched his stomach in laughter as Wufei stormed out of the room.

"I knew what he meant, but I couldn't resist." He turned to Heero, laughing, and lightly punched his arm.

"You're terrible."

xx

Wufei walked along the corridor, stopping every once in a while to check doors he hoped would lead to the washroom. When no such room was revealed to him, he decided to descend the stairs and search the main level. He walked down the hall when his vision suddenly rippled, and the floor and the walls looked like a disrupted pond. Little waves flew all around him and ebbed down the corridor. Shaking it off as just another supernatural occurrence that would later be explained, he stepped foot on the landing and noticed a caramel coloured door to his left, where the dead end of the hallway was.

He knew this house liked to play tricks, or that forces behind the mischievous happenings of this house liked to play tricks, so, with a steadying breath, he pushed the knobless door open and wasn't exactly shocked to find a washroom. It was just the thing he was starting to expect from this house.

Closing the door behind him, he proceeded to complete his business, flush and wash his hands. With no towel to dry his wet digits, he unceremoniously wiped them on his pant legs, and pushed the door to leave. It opened and he gasped.

He was no longer facing the hallway, which held the stairs to where his four friends were. Instead, he was facing the Diana fountain on the front land of the house. Quickly, he jutted back inside the washroom and closed the door, hoping the next time he opened it he would be facing the hallway again.

No such luck. He stared for the second time at the fountain. How had this happened? How was he to get back upstairs? The window. With a displeased expression, and his eyes narrow, he marched out of the bathroom door and around the fountain to the large bay window he had previously used to enter the mansion.

"Oh, _shit_!"

The window was boarded up. Thick wooden sheets were nailed over the windowpanes. With a defeated sigh, he slumped against the tree trunk behind him. How was he going to get out of this one, and back with his friends? If only he hadn't left that bathroom.

"Well, Wufei, what are we going to do? Great. Talking to yourself. It's the first sign of insanity. Damn."

He looked around for anything that could break the wood so he could climb back through the window.

"Tools!" He jumped to his feet and ran towards the wrought iron gate where Trowa's Jeep had been parked. Rummaging through the back seat, he found nothing more useful than a screwdriver. "Well, it's better than nothing."

And with that he set away at trying to break the wood with the tip of the screwdriver.

xx

"Wufei's been gone a long time, ya know?" Duo rummaged through another box, one of many, that had been tucked far into the recess of the closet. "Maybe he really is—"

"Don't even say it, Duo." Heero scowled.

"I say someone should go look for him. Knowing this house, he could be stuck in a wall somewhere." Trowa stood, wincing from the pain that shot through his leg.

At that, Quatre stood as well, hands on hips and his lips in a tight pout while his brows furrowed at Trowa's state. There was no way he was going to let Trowa hobble off on his own in this house! And that was final.

"Trowa, first of all, you're not going anywhere in your condition. Second, I really don't think it's a good idea for us to split up. If Wufei is in a wall," at this his expression became perplexed, "then there's no use in all of us getting separated and becoming a permanent fixture of this house as well. What good would it do if we were all stuck in different walls?"

"I concur. There's no reason to split up. We should all go look for Wufei together," Heero turned to Duo, his eyes almost asking for him to make the vote three to one.

"No." Trowa shook his head. "You three should stay here and figure out a way to get us all out of this house. Keep reading those journals. If we all left, we probably wouldn't have enough time to piece together this puzzle. I'm going to look for Wufei."

"At least let _me_ go with you. Please, Trowa? I don't want you walking around with that leg without someone. What happens if you trip and fall, eh? Heero and Duo can stay here and read though these journals together. You won't leave each other, will you?" Quatre directed his last question to Heero and Duo, wanting them to confirm his statement and put Trowa at ease.

"Of course not." Heero reached for another journal. "We'll be fine here for the time being, while you two go look for Wufei."

Defeated, Trowa sighed and looked to Quatre. "Fine, let's go." He then began to hop-step his way out of the master bedroom, Quatre close to his side.

Heero shook his head as he heard Quatre's worried squawkings all down the hallway. Opening the journal in his hand to the first page, his eyes lit with excitement. There, tucked away in the corner of the back of the cover, was a name in very small letters.

"Duo! This journal belongs to Kallias!"

"Really?" Duo scooted over so he was right next to Heero, hip to hip, as he read over his shoulder the first page. "'_August seventeenth, nineteen ten. I want to marry Parthenia. However, he won't allow it. I cannot even pen his name, it disturbs me so.'_"

"Damnit! How are we ever going to figure this out?"

Duo shrugged as he continued to read. "'_He says a servant cannot marry into the family. I loathe this house and I want to leave. That is not allowed either, as I have no freedom.'_ Wait, is Kallias the servant or is Parthenia the servant?"

"Kallias, I'm assuming. Look at his clothes in these pictures compared to Carl's. Carl…Carl won't allow it! He's the head of estate, right? So, he's forbidding Kallias to marry…" Heero's voice trailed off as his eyes searched the page, "Parthenia because he likes him! That's why Kallias looks so unhappy in these pictures."

"There's more. '_I confessed my love to Parthenia and she was quite taken with it. However, she also knows the rules and dares not return my love even though she said if the circumstances were any different she would be my wife.'_ Parthenia loved Kallias back. But…who killed Carl?"

xx

"Where do you think Wufei could have gone?" Quatre's azure eyes sheepishly made contact with Trowa's deep forest greens. A light blush danced upon Quatre's porcelain skin as his skin heated.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Trowa had limped all the way down the staircase where, oddly, a brown door appeared that hadn't been there before. "But, all rational thought and logic begs me to check behind this door."

Quatre jumped as the brown door suddenly flashed into existence in front of him. "Yeah, I'm betting it has to do with that." With a bracing huff of air, he pushed on the knobless door and was lead into a lavish kitchen. "This wasn't here before, for sure."

Trowa nodded as he followed the blonde into the starving man's paradise. Gourmet dish after gourmet dish littered the room and, despite himself, Trowa found his mouth watering.

"Oh, we haven't eaten since breakfast. I bet you Heero and Duo are starving. Think we should bring a plate up to them?"

Trowa nodded as he reached for a stack of dishes and began piling up roast beef shepherd's pie, chicken cordon bleu, peach cobbler and other assorted pastries and desserts.

"Hmm, what's that?" Quatre pointed to a small brown scoop in a sundae dish.

"Tartoufo. Take some, trust me."

Quatre did as he was told, gaily piling up food upon food on three separate dishes (one for him, one for Heero and one for Duo). "Think that maybe Wufei came in here and got distracted?"

"Nah."

"Why?"

"Because he'd still be in here, wouldn't he?"

Quatre looked around the room that was, with the exception of himself, Trowa and the wonderful food, fairly empty. With a shrug, he continued to pile food upon three plates and, when he was done, situated them on his arm as a waitress would.

"Oh, the talent."

Quatre blushed at Trowa's deadpanned comment.

"Oh, shush you. C'mon. We should get this food up to the others."

"Without silverware?"

Quatre sighed as he walked towards the drawers, preparing to place the food back down and begin his search, when Trowa called his attention.

"Nevermind over there. There's some here on the table." He scooped up four forks and knives and held them tight as he grabbed the plate with his other hand and began to limp towards the door.

With a little huff, Quatre rolled his eyes and followed Trowa. Using his bodyweight, Quatre pushed on the door to open it and gasped. Dropping the plates, he reached for something, anything, as he began to tumbled downwards. The hallway where they had entered had disappeared and Quatre was now falling. Quickly, Trowa grabbed his hand but to no avail. Both boys tumbled through the floor and fell out of the sky.

"AAAAAAHAHAAAH!" A painful, anguished cry split Quatre's tears open as he landed on something soft, Trowa having landed on him.

With no time to relish in the comforting feeling of contact between them Trowa and Quatre quickly got to their feet, rolling off the soft object, and noticed they were in front of the mansion. Taking in the surroundings, Quatre's eyes widened as he noticed Wufei on the ground, cursing and crying out as he trembled, a purple object wedged in his leg.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god!" Wufei closed his eyes, hissing, almost blind from the sheer pain. "There's a screwdriver in my thigh. There's a screwdriver in my thigh. Oh god. It hurts. It hurts a lot. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Oh god, Wufei! Oh, Trowa!" Panicked, Quatre turned to Trowa, "What do we do?"

Trowa gave a light shrug as he reached down and snaked his arms around the injured boy. Ignoring the sharp pain in his leg, he hoisted the boy off the ground and began to walk towards the gate where his jeep was situated. "We're going to the hospital, hopefully."

"Hopefully? What do you mean _hopefully_?"

"I mean, hopefully, Quatre, this house will let us leave so we can seek some medical care." Trowa placed the boy he carried in the back of the jeep, lying on the two seats that sometimes served as a trunk. Rummaging in his pants pocket, Trowa pulled out a small set of keys and attempted to clamber into the drivers seat.

"Oh, I do _not_ think so Mr. Macho. You are _not_ driving in that condition. It wouldn't hurt to have you checked out either. I'm driving, thank you very much." And with that the little blonde ushered Trowa into the passenger seat. He then climbed into the drivers seat, crossed one set of fingers and turned on the ignition. With a cough and a hiccup, then a cachunk, Trowa's beat-up piece of scrap metal meandered to life.

"Honestly, with this piece of junk, you don't have to worry about the house stalling us. You have to worry about the actual—"

"Quatre, I know I know! And, I'll make you a deal. If we all make it out of here alive I'll buy a new jeep, okay?"

Quatre's smile brightened. "Okay, we might as well look for a new vehicle while we're on our way to the hospital. There's no way we're letting anything happen to Heero and Duo. They'll be alright until we get you two fixed up."

"Thhhh-then w-we're c-c-coming back, right?" Wufei's voice sounded distant and difficult, as if any second he would pass out, probably from the pain.

"Right. We're not leaving them in there."

xx

"What is it, Heero?" Duo tore his attention away from the journal he was reading.

"Probably nothing, but I thought I heard someone scream. Someone…far away I guess."

Duo shrugged his shoulders, now under the tingling sensation of someone watching him, the hairs on his neck stand up. Funny, now he swore he could almost hear snickering.

_"Watching me wanting me  
  
_

_I can feel you pull me down  
  
_

_Fearing you loving you  
  
_

_I won't let you pull me down  
  
Hunting you I can smell you - alive  
  
_

_Your heart pounding in my head"_

**TBC.**

**

* * *

Author's Note:** I've concluded this should be a movie instead of a fic, that way the readers can properly view the special effects without my lack of vocabulary screwing it up. I hate myself. EVERYTHING SHOULD BE IN FINE DETAIL. You should know how everything moves, everything looks, everything feels to them. I'm failing. This is why I never post anything, or go through with anything. 

**Nobara:** (Slaps!) Get a grip woman!  
**Praevisum:** I didn't exactly need that, you know. All I need to do is steal Shakespeare's brain and…  
**Nobara:** Good luck. Do you _know_ how many people want that?  
**Praevisum:** Well, I take more precedence.  
**Nobara:** You're such a pretentious biotch sometimes, you know that?  
**Praevisum:** I'm only letting you get away with that comment because you're family.

**Continued Author's Note:** Thanks to my beta, and my reviewers. Thanks to my muse. Thanks to my computer. Thanks to the Doritos company for making Rollitos. Thanks to Maxwell House Coffee and, lastly, thanks to all the little people who are searching for ways to make me all-knowing and all-powerful. I will take over the world, I promise you.

**ON A SERIOUS NOTE:** My uncle just recently passed away and that is another reason why this wasn't out earlier. Inspiration is hard to grasp when it likes to seep between your fingers in airy wisps.


	4. Whisper

**Author's Note:** I would really like to apologize for taking so long with this story. This is exactly why I dislike writing as I post. I've been in such a … rut lately and I've had no inspiration for writing at all. My life is just so chaotic right now that I haven't even had time to sit at the computer for several hours and pound out a chapter. However, here it is: Chapter Four. I'm only planning on two more chapters after this, and the last one will probably be very lengthy.

I'd like to thank all the readers who reviewed my story, **Longsama**, **Aquarius**, **Keiran**, **Shaeric** **Draconis** and **Silver** **Thorns**, **A** **Bloody** **Rose**. Though I've had few reviewers with this story, every review means so much to me. It's amazing to get such wonderful feedback and know that people are enjoying my hard work. Also, I'd like to thankmy beta for going over this AFTER Iposted it...teehee. Iluvyou **Reve**! (FSF-FSF-FSF-FSF-FSF-FSF-FSF!)

* * *

**Haunted Essence  
By Praevisum**

_"Catch me as I fall_

_Say you're here and it's all over now_

_Speaking to the atmosphere_

_No one's here and I fall into myself_

_This truth drives me into madness_

_I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away" _

**Chapter IV: Whisper**

"Alright, what do we have here?"

A stumpy grey-haired man in a white overcoat pushed back the vomit-inducing yellow curtain that hung loosely around an invisible bubble that encircled Wufei's hospital bed. Trekking closer to the moaning youth, clipboard beheld in a leathery tanned hand, the doctor smiled sympathetically at the boy, lines creasing a once young and square face.

"Puncture wound to the thigh, eh?" He read over the paper clipped to the brown board as he tilted his head up to peer through the lower half of his bifocals. Lowering his head once again and looking normally through the lens, his smile faded just slightly. "Well, let's have a look-see."

Wufei tried to hold still as the doctor rolled up the hospital gown he had been helped into earlier, much to his embarrassment.

"Ooh, and how did this happen?"

"A screwdriver," Wufei grit out painfully.

"I can tell." The doctor furrowed his brows at the orange plastic protruding out of his young patient's leg. "And how did this screwdriver come to puncture your thigh?"

"Quatre fell on me."

Here, the doctor looked suspicious.

"It was an accident," Wufei affirmed.

"Well, you just missed a main artery, lucky boy." The doctor still prodded around as blood leaked out around the metal in Wufei's wound.

"Lucky? I have a fucking screwdriver in my leg. How am I lucky?"

"I understand your stress, but you are lucky by means of being saved the horror of bleeding to death. If this screwdriver had been moved half an inch to my right, you would be dead right now, Mr. Chang."

"No!" A female voice called out from the hallway. "Sirs, you can't go in there! Sirs!"

The nauseating curtain was swung open further and one paled Quatre flew into the room with one apologetic Trowa flanking him.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, but—"

"What's wrong?" Wufei cut in.

"Well, I just called work, to let them know that there had been an accident at the site. And, well, Une asked 'what site' and I told her the Baxter Mansion. Then she said 'what are you talking about' yadda yadda, 'the Baxter Mansion was demolished a few months ago' blah blah, 'there were no new assignments this morning'."

"WHAT!" Wufei's face paled.

"I know. How can we have been in a mansion that was torn down? I don't know. But, this is more serious than we thought. If Heero and Duo are still stuck in there, and the place doesn't exist, they might not be able to get out." Concern dripped off Quatre's compassionate features as his eyes locked onto Wufei's cold, yet warm, ones.

"You're in no condition to go back there, but Quatre and I are," Trowa spoke up swiftly, his own wound in clean dressings. "So, we're going to go get them."

"And leave me here? Like hell."

"Wufei, they don't have much time. There's only about six hours until midnight. If we don't find a way to help them—"

"And just what exactly is going on here?" The doctor, having listened to the conversation, had assessed that the youths in the small enclosed area belonged in the mental ward on the eighth floor.

"Nothing that concerns you," Wufei snapped as he tried to sit up further, the pain shooting sparks down his nerves and exploding in his thigh with a burning numbness.

"As you are my patient—"

"We'll be back, we swear. We're not going to leave you here. They have to fix you up and by the time that's finished, well, I just don't know how long that will take. But, time is of the essence. Trowa and I have to figure out how to free Duo and Heero." Quatre's eyes pleaded with Wufei, begging to reason.

With a mighty sigh Wufei nodded his head in defeat.

"Fine, go. Just promise me you'll get them out—"

"Where is he?"

"Ma'am! Please, there's already—" The woman in the hallway's voice filtered into the little corner where Wufei was stationed.

Briskly, a Chinese woman wearing a red blazer and matching dress pants stepped into the room, jet-black hair tied into two tiny tufts at the back of her head. With hands on her hips she shook her head. "Oh, Wufei, what did you do this time?"

"This time!" Wufei shrieked. He didn't understand "this time" since there had never been another time as he was not accident-prone at all. That was Duo's department, not his.

"That's it. Everyone out!" The doctor's face turned a light shade of red as his voice rose, causing the occupants of the cubicle to jump due to surprise.

Trowa and Quatre nodded to Wufei and, in passing, said their goodbyes to Meilan as they made their way out, bent on returning to the Baxter Mansion (if it was still accessible as it was supposedly demolished) and freeing their friends.

"Well," Quatre heard as he shut the curtain behind him, "I'm his fiancée so I'm not going anywhere."

xx

A low grumble, that of a gurgling pit, slowly echoed in the otherwise silent and dusty room. With one brow quirked, Heero turned to his friend and placed the diary he was reading next to him.

"Getting hungry?"

Duo nodded as he looked down at his watch. It was a little after six in the evening and he hadn't touched a morsel of food since breakfast.

"Starving to be more exact. They've been gone a while, maybe I should go look for them and get some food while I'm at it." Duo went to stand, but was abruptly pulled back down to the hard floor.

"You're not going anywhere without me. If we get separated…Well, I can only assess that the house has lost the others. I won't risk losing you."

"Ah, c'mon!" Duo blushed as he looked away, refusing to make eye contact with Heero.

That boy obviously had no idea what his little statement had done to Duo, and how could he? As far as Duo knew - which was pretty far seeing as they had known each other since the middle of grade school - Heero had never had a crush on anyone or had never been affected by someone on that level. As far as he knew, little statements or glances never stirred in Heero the same emotions that were stirred in Duo every time Heero's name was mentioned. As far as Duo knew, Heero didn't have those sorts of emotions to stir and, therefore, would never understand why Duo always hoped for double meanings in things Heero said.

"I'll be fine on my own."

"Yeah, like Wufei was, and Trowa and Quatre. Don't kid yourself Duo. You go nowhere without me, got it?"

"Yeah, whatever," Duo grumbled.

As much as he was silently relishing in the protective manner in which Heero was bestowing upon him, Duo didn't want to be treated as a child. He wasn't about to let Heero go _everywhere_ he went, especially if that everywhere was to the washroom. Duo had a hard enough time going in public restrooms when stalls separated him. How was he to go with someone standing over his shoulder?

"I mean it."

"I know, I know. Anyway, what have you found out?"

"Well, this one is useless." Heero tossed the diary he placed between Duo and himself behind him. "It's just Carl going on and on about the estate and how sick his father is and how he has to get married but doesn't want to because he's in love with Kallias. I have a half-assed theory on who killed Carl, though. See, Parthenia loved Kallias and Kallias loved her. Maybe she killed Carl so she could marry Kallias."

"But if that's the case then we can rule out Kallias being afraid of Carl's murderer, cuz he loved her so he wouldn't be afraid of her."

"That's true." Heero reached for another box, "but we don't know Kallias' nature. Maybe, after he realized what Parthenia was capable of, he grew to fear her."

"I don't know, Heero. All of our theories are so far fetched and just based on our guesses. I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever figure out how to get out of here. I'm starting to wonder if these journals have any meaning at all. What if we've wasted all this time on nothing?" Duo's helpless eyes begged for reassurance.

His entire visage was a contortion of worry, and it pained Heero. Duo's usually bright and enrapturing eyes were so lost in a sea of chaos that Heero feared Duo would drown himself.

"I…" Heero took in a deep breath. "I swear I'll get you out of here. I promise—"

"All these promises, Heero. We're in serious shit! And I doubt these stupid diaries have any _real_ clues!" Duo whipped one of the diaries across the room; it hit a dresser drawer and thudded on the ground. "We've wasted so much time! Even if we did figure anything out, how the hell is that going to help us get out of here? What, 'we've figured our all your secrets, mighty ghost! Lead us out of this place!' No, Heero, it doesn't work like that. Admit it, we're fucked. We're totally and royally fucked!"

Heero reached a hand and placed it on Duo's trembling arm that, surprisingly, seemed to instantly calm the youth. Calmly, he spoke.

"Look, yes, we are in trouble. But whatever happens to you happens to me too." Heero grabbed Duo's chin, forcing their eyes to lock. "We're in this together and no matter what happens I won't let anything happen to you. Now, you need a break from all this. Let's go find you some food."

Heero stood up and outstretched a hand for Duo, who took it gladly and was helped to his feet. Together, the two of them left journals and pictures in an array in the large bedroom and walked down the hallway towards the staircase.

xx

"Hurry, Trowa. There's not that much time!" Quatre frantically checked his watch for the fifth time in twelve seconds.

The forty-five minute drive from the hospital to the Baxter Mansion was taking far longer than it was supposed to. Granted, the site was only five minutes out of town, but the Hospital was in the heart of the large city in which the boys resided and, therefore, took much longer to travel between the two.

"Quatre, I'm driving as fast as I dare right now." Trowa signalled, then switched lanes on the five-lane highway in order to make the next exit.

"I know. I just wish you dared to drive a little faster. I'm really worried about—"

"And I'm not? Have you ever thought about the crazy way we fell out of the sky, Quatre?" Trowa gave a tiny sharp glance in Quatre's direction. "The house practically kicked us out. Whatever is going on, Heero and Duo are going to have to face it alone—"

"You're giving up on them!" Quatre looked incredulously at Trowa, folding his arms across his chest and huffing.

"No, don't be ridiculous. I want to help, I really do. They're my friends, too. I'm just saying that whatever is going on, it involves them and not us. The house is seeing to that. We'll be there for them, don't you doubt that, to give them all the support they need, but I'm just not sure how much we'll be able to do for them." Trowa took one hand off the steering wheel and patted the part of Quatre's hand that wasn't tucked in his arm.

That small effort was enough to relax Quatre and he soon unfolded his arms, shyly daring to look Trowa in the eyes as they pulled off the highway. Quatre smiled just slightly when he noticed that Trowa was making no effort of taking his hands back, and he even blushed when he felt the sweet small caress of Trowa's fingers against his own.

It wasn't long before Trowa drove up the winding dirt road, shaded by giant maple trees, until they reached the large gates of the manor. Getting out of the car quickly, Quatre ran towards the gates and pushed with all his might until they swung open enough to drive through them. He trotted after the jeep as Trowa parked behind the fountain of Diana.

Relieved that the manor still stood, Trowa slid out of his vehicle and joined Quatre at the boarded window.

xx

"So, do you have any clue where the other three went?"

Duo took each step down the staircase one agonizingly slow step at a time.

Heero sighed. "Actually, I have no idea but I know they're just gone."

"Gone?"

"Yeah. They're gone. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I know we won't find them."

"Ever again?" Duo's voice dulled to a whisper.

Heero gave Duo a pointed look. He reassured his friend that, somehow, they'd find each other again though all logic and reason told him otherwise. Heero knew there was a chance that whatever was happening may prevent himself and Duo from seeing their friends, or the outside world, ever again. However, Heero knew that, no matter what was to come, he wouldn't let Duo face it alone. They were in it together and he would stay by Duo's side regardless of the circumstances.

It was then Heero noticed just how much he was protecting Duo and just how many promises he made himself and Duo that they were going to stay together. It was then Heero noticed how much he meant every word. It was then Heero realized he had a burning longing to reach out and encircle his arms around Duo and hold him safe. And so he did.

Reaching slowly, but not as slowly as Duo was trudging down the stairs, Heero's fingertips grazed Duo's shirt as he snaked his arms around his ribcage. Duo jumped at the sudden contact, and lost his footing on the stairs. He began to tumble forward, brining Heero with him, as he fell down the last four steps. Heero, falling with him, added to Duo's momentum and they crashed into the wall at the bottom of the stairs, giving way to a hidden staircase that ascended.

Crashing down to the floor at the bottom of the first hidden step, Duo turned on Heero.

"What the hell was that for? You pushed me!"

"I…I…" Heero didn't have the courage to tell Duo he was attempting to hug him. "I tripped, sorry. I didn't mean to push you."

"Well," Duo started, obviously irritated by Heero's clumsiness but not wanting to seem like an ass and not forgive him when Heero looked so blatantly apologetic, "just watch where you're going next time."

Heero stood from the entanglement of limbs on the floor and helped Duo to his feet. Both boys faced the stairway, gazing up at its tremendous height and noting how it got darker and more foreboding the farther it went.

"Well? What do you think is up there?" Duo motioned to the stairs with a nod of his head, as if he needed to point out the object of his inquiry.

Heero shrugged, suddenly realizing how odd their fall had been. The more he thought about it, the more he remembered feeling as if he may have been pushed down the stairs, rather than tripping.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling we were meant to find out. C'mon." Heero began to ascend the stairs, Duo looking up after him.

"Aw, but…I'm hungry," the braided boy whined. "You promised me food! Heero, I'm serious I…oh, fine." Slowly, Duo ascended the stairs after Heero, stomping slightly with every step. "But, don't think I'm okay with this."

Once the two boys reached the top of the stairs they were faced with a large wooden door about three times as wide as any other door and two times as high. Perplexedly, Heero knocked and tapped on the door, trying to find a handle or some sort of way to open it.

"What the hell could possibly be behind that thing? It's massive."

Heero's hand caught on the door. The concave dip was so subtle that it was almost invisible. With a mighty heave, Heero slid the door into the wall and revealed a dark and stuffy room.

"Something tells me this room wasn't part of the tour when they displayed this house as a museum." Duo brought his hand up to his head and raked his fingers through his bangs, surveying the room.

Heero turned to Duo then turned to the room and started to enter.

"Something tells me you're right."

Duo followed Heero into the dusty and dirty room. Cobwebs hung form the ceiling, so saturated in dust they looked like pieces of thin rope. The floorboards creaked with every step and every step created prints in the dust blanket that clung to the wood.

"I wonder what this room was used for."

"Confinement."

Puzzled, Duo faced Heero, his brow furrowed.

"Why do you say that?"

"Look."

Duo's gaze followed Heero's slim and pointed finger and his eyes settled upon a small soiled coloured bed that was moments from falling apart. Though the bed proved nothing of confinement, the shackles chained to the wall above did. Disgusted, Duo moved closer for a better look.

"What kind of sickos lived in this house?"

"Carl."

Duo nodded. "Mmmm, point taken."

Exploring the room further, Heero came to stand at a huge circular window that overlooked the front yard. Below, Heero could see the iron gate and the fountain and…Wufei?

"That can't be right," Heero mumbled to himself.

The figure flickered out of sight just as soon as Heero saw it, but he swore he saw Wufei. Did that mean the others were safe, outside the house? Had they found a way to get out? Did that mean the door had returned? And, if it had, why didn't Wufei return to alert the others? It just didn't make sense.

Suddenly, there was a loud shrieking creak, like that of wood against wood. Heero turned to look over his shoulder just in time to see a wardrobe from the other side of the room detach itself from its position and fly towards him.

"HEERO!"

Just in time, Heero moved out of the way and the wardrobe crashed into the wall with a tremendous thud that would have crushed anyone standing in the way.

"Goddamn it, Yuy, you're right!" Duo ran over and stood by Heero, one hand on his hip and the other on Heero's shoulder. "You okay?"

All Duo got for a response was a nod.

"Something is trying to separate us. Something is trying to take us from each other. Well, I'm not going to stand idly by! That's it!" Duo grabbed Heero's shoulders tight and turned him so they were face to face. "From now on, I'm not going to permit you to let me out of your sight. Wherever I go, you're taking me with you. Whatever I do, we're not doing it alone—"

"Finally you agree—"

And Duo did agree, finally. He had to admit that he was starting to freak out a little. What if Heero hadn't moved out of the way? He suddenly pictured a very squished Heero pinned between a wall and a wardrobe. As his morbid mind was apt to do, he always pictured his beloved ones injured.

"I'm serious, Heero. We're stuck together now."

"Duo, that's what I've been trying to tell you—"

"Nope. I won't have any arguing now. You're just going to have to deal with the fact that I'm sticking to your hip like glue."

Heero shook his head in exasperation, not that he minded sticking to Duo like glue. Actually, he was rather fond of that idea.

_"I'm frightened by what I see_

_But somehow I know that there's much more to come_

_Immobilized by my fear_

_And soon to be blinded by tears_

_I can stop the pain if I will it all away."_

**_TBC_**


	5. Surrender

**Summary:** Alright, Duo and Heero are "antique rescuers" for a museum that houses belongings of the socially "royal" deceased, meaning those individuals who had great social status and were important benefactors of the town in which they resided. However, the new house they are assigned to is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Carl Baxter, the deceased head of estate. Craziness ensues when Duo finds a mysterious painting of a boy, Quatre starts entering trancelike states and Heero starts hallucinating, or is he really seeing ghosts?

**Warnings:** AU. OOC. (Look, if it's AU there is going to be some OOC to an extent because they're no longer the same character). Yaoi (meaning gay relationships), 1x2x1 and implied 3x4 & 5xM, dark, angst, violence, implied sex (past-tense rape), death, language…Oh, and it's a song fic…but you don't have to read the song lyrics if you don't want to. And there's some original characters in there.

**Disclaimer:** I do _not_ own the Gundam boys, nor do I really want to. Honestly. Everyone says they wish they owned them, but then everyone would be coming to me to buy them from me. I wouldn't get a moments rest. So, no, I'm not making profit off this. And besides, borrowing them from time to time is just as fun as owing them, I would imagine. I also don't own the chapter titles. They're the name of the according song in the chapter, all owned by Evanescence. OH! And you may find traces of a small mini-series called Rose Red and a PlayStation 2 video game Fatal Frame (I and II). However, I do _not_ own them, either. I don't even own legal copies! **HOWEVER**, I do own my original characters. Any character that does not appear in any series, movie or manga is mine. Yes, that's right, all M-I-N-E.

**

* * *

**

Haunted Essence  
By Praevisum

"_You can't abandon me  
_

_You belong to me  
_

_Breathe in and take my life in you  
_

_No longer myself only you  
_

_There's no escaping me my love  
_

_Surrender…"_

**Chapter V: Surrender**

"_Master Carl…I just…I could not. I…I…please, please no. Master Carl!"_

_Kallias was thrown onto the bed face down. The massive Carl clambered over him and shackled his wrists to the wall. Unable to move a far distance, Kallias struggled against Carl, trying to slip his hands free of the tight shackles. The iron cut into his wrists making them bleed. Facing the wall, waterfalls of tears tore down his cheeks, soaking his beautiful skin, as he struggled against the man who began to undo his robes._

"_Hold still or it will hurt!" _

_Carl grabbed the silken braid that hung loosely at Kallias' side, its tip gently brushing the torn sheets on the tattered mattress._

"_Oh, please, please, Master Carl, please …please no!" Kallias sobbed as he felt the man behind him press himself against Kallias' now bare opening. "OH GOD! PLEASE MASTER CARL, NO—"_

"Heero! Heero!"

Slowly, thick lashes began to flutter open, repeatedly dusting the skin under giant blue orbs.

"What happened?" Heero asked as he grabbed the side of his head, the throbbing pain enough to knock him down again as he tried to sit up.

"You just kinda…fell over. I sorta caught you, but then I fell over too." Duo blushed as he stood and helped Heero to his feet, catching him as he swayed slightly. "You really scared the shit outta me. I didn't know what happened."

"I was…dreaming. At least, I think it was a dream."

"You were only out for like, three seconds, dude. You couldn't have been dreaming."

Heero walked over to the bed that had been in his vision. He touched the disintegrating sheet and suddenly felt everything. He felt what it was like to be Kallias, trapped on this bed. He felt what it was like to be afraid and be powerless to stop Carl and the fear he brought. He felt what it was like to be violated, to be a victim, and wanted to cry.

"What's wrong?"

"Well…I…I saw Kallias getting raped by Carl…in my dream." Heero refused to say vision. It sounded too The Craft like to him. "And now, sitting on this bed, I can feel it all. It's so horrible to be raped over and over and have no power to stop it."

Sullen, Duo slowly approached Heero and sat on the bed next to him, his hands between his legs.

"I…I know. I never told you this…or anyone, really. But, when I was younger," Duo's voice grew somber and his brilliant eyes dulled, "one of my foster mothers…she'd touch me. And, I know it's not the same thing as rape but—"

Duo didn't finish his sentence. He didn't have to. Heero understood and pulled him into a tight hug, letting Duo fall into him.

"Was this before we were friends?"

Duo shook his head, a single tear trembling down his flawless cheek. "Around when we met, actually, in grade two."

"Why didn't you say anything to me? You know I could've helped you."

"Heero, you were six. What could you have really done?"

"I dunno…I still could've helped…somehow. I could've—"

"Could've what? Endangered yourself for someone you just met?"

"I would've protected you. That's what best friends do."

Duo sat up, locking eyes with the very serious Heero. Instantly, he knew Heero meant it, and would always mean it. Heero was his protector and he'd do anything and everything to return the favour.

XX

"Boo!"

Quatre and Trowa turned around, startled to see Wufei. He was standing tall with a bright smile one his face.

"Wu…fei? How did you…how are you walking?" Quatre sputtered.

"Ah, that doc fixed me up good as new. Great guy."

"How did you get here? We have the car." Trowa informed.

The smile on Wufei's face, to the trained eye, seemed to falter minutely for half a millisecond.

"Ugh…Meilan, actually. She drove me here."

"Really?" Quatre tried to look past Wufei for evidence of Meilan's presence. "Why didn't she say hello, then? She just let you off and left?"

"Yeppers! You know her, always wanting to get back to work."

"Quatre, can I talk to you for a minute alone, please?" Trowa motioned to the other side of the fountain where the trees could give them some privacy.

Nodding, Quatre followed Trowa to where he indicated, glancing over his shoulder to the boy they were leaving behind. Something didn't feel right with him, but he just couldn't place it. Sharply, Trowa turned to him, once they were hidden.

"I don't think that's Wufei."

"Me either." Again, Quatre glanced back at Wufei just as his left cheek twitched. "Yeah, something is very very wrong."

XX

"So, we're ditching the diaries?" Duo's voice bounced off the empty walls of the bare kitchen he was attempting to raid.

"Yeah, I figure they've told us all we'll find out from them." Heero jumped on top the counter, sitting on its edge.

"And the pictures?"

"Useless."

"But…" Duo started opening another bare cupboard, "isn't a picture worth a thousand words?"

"Not if you can't understand the language. We don't know enough about these people personally to really speculate anything or understand the pictures."

"Well then," Duo said, forfeiting his attempts to find food in the barren room. "What do you suggest we do?" He trudged towards Heero. "Start over?"

"Yes."

"Heero!" Duo protested, "We don't have enough time! We only have a few hours before we _die_."

"Who said anything about dying?" Heero looked sharply at Duo, not amused with his hyperboles of situations.

"Wufei said that Quatre said that there was going to be blood shed! Blood, Heero, means death in my books. And he also said we'd become a permanent fixture of this house. Like…maybe a wall. SHIT! Do you think that's where they went? Do you really thing they're in a wall? Heero, we need to help them." Duo began walking quickly to the door.

"Duo! You go _nowhere_ without me, remember? Get back here."

"And just forget about my friends! I don't think so!" Duo reached the door and pushed up against it, as it had no handle. It swung forward and Duo disappeared.

Leaping off the counter, Heero ran after him, sticking his toe in the door right before it swung back. It pinched his foot and a searing pain shot up his leg, reminding him he had burnt his feet earlier. Swinging the door back open, Heero darted down the hallway after Duo, who was running back into the study where this whole fiasco started.

"WUFEI! TROWA! QUATRE! WHERE ARE YOU! WHERE ARE YOU! QUATRE! WUF—"

"Duo! Shut the hell up!" Heero had caught up with him and walked into the study in time to see Duo spinning in circles, his arms outstretched, and facing the ceiling calling out his friends' names. The scene he was witnessing made Duo look like he was crazy. Having had enough, Heero marched over to Duo and grabbed his shoulders. "Stop. You've gone completely psycho." Shaking him slightly, he kept moving his head, forcing Duo to look him in the eyes. "I'm serious. Calm down. We're never going to get out of here if we start falling apart. Now, sit down, here, over here, with me."

As if snapping out of a trance, Duo shook his head slightly, his mind beginning to clear again. Leary, he walked with Heero towards the chesterfield that was at the back of the study. The two boys sat in silence for a while, deep in their own thoughts.

"So, the diaries?"

"Duo…it's like tabloids who take someone's words and just selection certain sentences to place together and change the meaning of the original paragraph. We don't know the real meaning, the subtext, to these entries. Besides, what has it told us so far? Carl was gay and Kallias was a servant who liked Carl's sister. How does that help us get out of this house? Our first instincts were wrong. We jumped to conclusions thinking that in the diaries we would find the answers."

"But what about Carl's murder and your vision of him? Maybe he's keeping us here. Maybe he wants us to solve the mystery! Maybe the bloodshed was his Quatre was speaking of, and maybe—"

"You're reaching. With all these maybes, Duo, we'll never really solve anything."

"We might!" Duo's eyes were desperate.

"I think what's most important right now is finding our friends. When we were in the attic room, I thought I saw Wufei. Maybe if we brake the window again…" Heero stood up and walked towards the large bay window. But, with every step he took, the clear and sunny day he saw through the glass became darker and darker until he stood right in front of the window. "Well, that fucking figures. It's boarded up. There's no breaking the window this time." Heero rolled his eyes, turning around to face Duo. "Duo, stand up now."

"What?" Duo was slow to comply, and could feel a slightly familiar breeze across his face. A slightly familiar voice filled his head, sweet and soft.

"_Please, time is short. Let me escape in you before my master hurts me once more. I am fearful—" _

"DUO! GET UP!" Heero marched towards his best friend who seemed to be caught in a trance. Kallias' translucent form was hovering horizontally next to Duo, his hand inching toward Duo's face. "DUO!" Heero reached him and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the ghostly figure. "Duo, are you with me?"

"Hnnwha…what? What the—"

"Kallias."

"'Nuff said. I heard him again."

"Figures." Heero stared angrily at the guilty looking fading form that eventually completely vanished. "What did he say this time?"

"Pretty much the same thing. But, the window is boarded up? This is bullshit, man." Duo flopped down on the couch once again. "Complete bullshit. I'm not going out without a fight… but, I'm just so tired right now, of everything you know? I'm hungry and thirsty and mentally tired…and physically."

"Did you want to rest for a while? Take a nap or something?" Heero sat closely next to Duo.

"I should, but…I dunno. I just kinda wanna get out of here. I just want the door to come back and for us to walk outta here and kill Une for this assignment. I really hate her right now." Duo smirked, relaxing more on the couch and using Heero's arm as a pillow.

Heero chuckled at this, looking down at Duo's drowsy face smushed into his bicep. When he thought about it, this wasn't any different than when they were just hanging out, just the two of them. They had always been close friends but it was now, Heero realized, that he yearned to be so much more.

"Mmm, you're comfy." Duo nestled his head into Heero's arm, intertwining his arm into Heero's.

Boldly, Heero reached for Duo's hand and, placing his over top, gently caressed the backside of Duo's hand with his fingertips, feeling the soft, silk-smooth skin and letting his eyes flutter close.

XX

"So, are you two going to get help or not? I'll stand guard!" Wufei hollered from where he stood, questioning the two boys hidden amongst the trees talking to themselves.

"What are we going to do?" Quatre, worried, turned his head over his shoulder and looked at Wufei. "Trowa, I'm just so lost."

"I know. Let me handle this, okay?" Trowa placed a hand on Quatre's troubled shoulder and gently patted.

"Alright."

Trowa walked toward the smiling figure of Wufei and, stuffing his hands in his pockets, looked as casual as possible. "Wu, we were thinking, why don't you go get help? It only takes one, right? And that way, there's more room in jeep if there's someone extra to bring back, you know? Like Nataku." Trowa waited. Wufei didn't react to the misuse of his name, as he always did, and didn't try to throttle Trowa for calling Meilan her secret pet name that only Wufei was allowed to use.

"I…I think you two should go. It's your jeep, after all." Wufei had a nasty glare in his eyes, and if looks could kill Trowa betted Wufei was secretly trying to commit murder.

"Nah. You can use it. Quatre wants to stay here, and I don't want to upset him. You don't want to upset him, do you?"

"N-no." Wufei's fake smile faltered. "I'll stay here with him then. You go."

"Wu, you know I can't do that. I'm not leave Quatre alone in a place like this, ever." Trowa misused his name once again, and he didn't even flinch. Something was very wrong and Trowa was hoping that the real Wufei was alright, for this one could be nothing less than a fake.

"But, I think it's safer, for the both of you, if you go get help."

"What about you?" Trowa raised his brow.

"Oh, you know me, I'll be fine."

"Yeah, and how's your leg?"

"Ugh, good. Fine. I already told you that."

"Um, Wufei…which leg did you hurt, again. I forget," Trowa baited.

"I…ugh…it was my…" Wufei now had a sour look on his face. "Is that really important? I mean, who cares? It doesn't matter which leg."

Trowa knew it. This Wufei didn't even know which leg the real Wufei had injured. Trowa knew the injured leg was Wufei's left one, and that it would be almost impossible to stand so quickly after narrowly missing a main artery.

"So, how'd she fix you up, anyway?" Trowa baited again.

"She?"

"The doctor."

"Oh…ugh…she…she, ugh…Does it matter? Why do you keep asking about my leg?"

"Maybe it matters because you don't know the answers. Maybe you cannot provide them because you're not Wufei. It was your left leg, and your doctor was a man. So, reveal yourself, in your true form."

Wufei began to convulse violently. Trowa took a step back, not sure if this imposter was about to attack or combust. Quatre, worried and watching the whole time, came running over to Trowa's side.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I…I don't know." Trowa took another step backwards as the imposter's condition worsened.

Wufei's jet-black hair began to drain of its colour, starting at the roots. It became a blinding white. His onyx eyes drained of colour as well, pupils and all. The rosy colour in his lips drained, and continued to drain downward. His bronze skin became the same blinding white, almost like pure light. He was still convulsing, and opened his mouth to scream but instead the light burst forward and Trowa and Quatre had to shield their eyes as the courtyard filled with light.

When they thought it was safe again, Trowa and Quatre opened their eyes to find themselves alone. Wufei had gone, and Quatre was horrified.

"He just…blew up! I just don't understand this place. There's some sort of magic or evil surrounding everything." Quatre began talking very quickly. "It's embedded into the very soul of this place. It's haunted and cursed! It's alive. It has control of itself. I mean, have you ever heard of a house that kicks you out, and makes you fall from the sky? Or makes windows one way and burns people when they try to leave? Or makes doors disappear or rooms appear at will? There is a very evil force at work here. We have to get our friends out! I don't think they'll make it out on their own. We have to…tear it down. That's what we have to do. We're tearing it down." Quatre made a move toward the jeep when Trowa grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Enough. Calm down. According to Une, this place is already demolished so we can't damage it. It's standing because someone's making it. Finding out who that is, may be up to Heero and Duo."

XX

"Meilan, I order you to go back to work." Wufei glared angrily at his fiancé as the doctor and nurse wheeled him down the hall towards the Operating Room.

"Chang Wufei don't you _dare_ start ordering me about! I'll go back to work when I'm good and ready. Right now, I'm going to sit down in the waiting room and I'm not leaving until they've given you the okay! Do you understand me!"

"Woman, I am able to take care of myself—"

"Shut up, Wufei." Meilan smirked. She knew it was all about honour in public because when they got home he'd be whining and crying like a puppy. "See you in a few."

"Hours." The doctor shook his head as they entered the Operating Room.

"_There's no sense in running  
_

_You know I will find you  
_

_Everything is perfect now_

_We can live forever"_

**TBC.**

**Author's Note:** Wow, everyone has my permission to draw and quarter me. Seriously, it's been forever and I'm so sorry. I took forever writing it (there's so much going on right now with my health and I'm just drained of inspiration) and then my beta underwent knee surgery and, though you'd think this would give her ample time to beta, it really hasn't. Though, there's no need to worry, because I have the end written out so it shouldn't be too long now.

Again, I would like to thank my readers and everyone who has me on their author alert list (WINK). And I'd love to thank my beta because without her…I wouldn't have gone to prom again. Tee hee.

I understand that this one is a little on the short side, but I warn you the last chapter is very long so I'll make up for it. I swear it.


	6. Tourniquet

**Summary:** Alright, Duo and Heero are "antique rescuers" for a museum that houses belongings of the socially "royal" deceased, meaning those individuals who had great social status and were important benefactors of the town in which they resided. However, the new house they are assigned to is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Carl Baxter, the deceased head of estate. Craziness ensues when Duo finds a mysterious painting of a boy, Quatre starts entering trancelike states and Heero starts hallucinating, or is he really seeing ghosts?

**Warnings:** AU. OOC. (Look, if it's AU there is going to be some OOC to an extent because they're no longer the same character). Yaoi (meaning gay relationships), 1x2x1 and implied 3x4 & 5xM, dark, angst, violence, implied sex (past-tense rape), death, language…Oh, and it's a song fic…but you don't have to read the song lyrics if you don't want to. And there's some original characters in there.

**Disclaimer:** I do _not_ own the Gundam boys, nor do I really want to. Honestly. Everyone says they wish they owned them, but then everyone would be coming to me to buy them from me. I wouldn't get a moments rest. So, no, I'm not making profit off this. And besides, borrowing them from time to time is just as fun as owing them, I would imagine. I also don't own the chapter titles. They're the name of the according song in the chapter, all owned by Evanescence. OH! And you may find traces of a small mini-series called Rose Red and a PlayStation 2 video game Fatal Frame (I and II). However, I do _not_ own them, either. I don't even own legal copies!  
**HOWEVER**, I do own my original characters. Any character that does not appear in any series, movie or manga is mine. Yes, that's right, all M-I-N-E.

* * *

**Haunted Essence  
By Praevisum**

"_Do you remember me_

_Lost for so long?_

_Will you be on the other side_

_Or will you forget me?_

_I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming_

_Am I too lost to be saved?_

_Am I too lost?"_

**Chapter VI: Tourniquet**

"You're positive that we don't need these, that they're garbage?" Duo placed one of the floor-strewn diaries back in the box and folded the lid over it. "Cuz, we wasted a lot of time—"

"We really didn't waste that much time. It's important that we know Carl loved Kallias and that Kallias loved Parthenia." Heero placed a picture of Carl and Kallias back into a diary and into a box.

"But we spent so much _time_ on those stupid diaries. If that's all we needed to know we could've ditched them hours ago."

"Well, I'm doing the best I can, okay?"

The truth was that Heero had run out of ideas. The diaries were an obvious dead end but he didn't have any other ideas. Heero promised Duo he wouldn't let anything happen to him and he was beginning to wonder how he was going to fulfill his promise when he had no ideas left.

"I...I need to look at things. Hey, hand me Carl's last diary...the half finished one." Heero reached his hand out toward Duo who held a couple books in his hands.

Duo, unsure, tentatively handed Heero a diary and continued putting the rest away. He wasn't sure what Heero was up to.

Taking a pen from the bottom of one of the diary boxes, Heero sat on the floor crossed legged and began a quick point form journal entry from the start of the day. He listed everything, starting from Une's phone call giving them the assignment to him sitting on the floor writing about it.

"Alright, look at this. Kallias is trying to contact you, and it's obvious why. You two are identical. He's giving us clues, I think, to help us out of the house. The only negative thing is, I'm positive, he wants us to bring him with us. He keeps trying to escape within you, right?"

"So, is this one of those corny moments where we call an exorcist because Kallias is tired of being an earth bound tormented spirit? Do we all sit around the Ouija board and—"

"That's the problem, Duo. There is no 'we all'...there's only us. Trowa, Quatre and Wufei are gone. We were in the house alone to begin with and whoever is behind this is making it so we're the only ones here when it ends...or...maybe..." Comprehension dawned on Heero's face as he then looked horrorstruck at Duo. "No way."

"What?" Duo eagerly abandoned the diaries in hand and sat next to Heero, peering at the page with Heero's tight and almost perfect writing. "What?"

"I don't want to frighten you, but maybe you're the only one who's supposed to be left. The wardrobe upstairs tried to crush me against the window."

"Yeah, you would've been flattened..."

"Or sent out the window-that's it! Duo, the others are okay. They're being kicked out of the house!"

"Are they alright, though?" Duo's wide eyes focused on Heero's and concern was laced there. "Heero, they're okay, though, right? I mean, they're not hurt, are they? Ghosts can't hurt us, can they?"

Heero looked down at his bandaged hand. When he had tried to escape the house earlier he had gotten hurt. It wasn't a ghost per se that actually hurt him, but he would bet that the apparition he saw in the hallway shortly afterwards was somehow behind it. "_They_ can't hurt us but they can manipulate objects into doing so. The door. The windowsill. The wardrobe. I'm starting to think I was pushed down the stairs, by the way."

"When you tripped me?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"I'm sure of it, though, that you're the only one supposed to remain at the end of the night."

"You mean at midnight when I die?"

"Quatre didn't say anything about dying, Duo! He just said there was no escape..."

"And that there would be blood shed!"

"I know, I know! Look, I'm trying my damned hardest to figure this mess out, okay? I'm just running out of ideas, okay! Are you happy now? I'm at my wits end, Duo. I've been trying to stay calm and keep you calm but I just can't do it anymore! I made a promise to you, to keep you safe and stay with you, and now I'm not sure I'll be able to keep that promise...not from lack of trying. I'll try, but if something supernatural is controlling all of this then—"

"Yuy, relax. Please, you're scaring me." Duo reached a hand out and touched Heero's bandages. He let his hand rest there for a moment before speaking again. "I'm sorry for putting so much pressure on you. I can't expect you to be my support pillar for so long without cracking a little. I shouldn't expect so much of you. You're always so composed and collected and I just wish sometimes that I could be that way so you don't always have to."

"Don't ever change. I love you the way you are

XX

"Quatre, just come sit down. There's nothing we can do."

"But—"

"Wufei was trying to break into the house and didn't even make a dent with that screwdriver."

"But—"

"Whatever is keeping Heero and Duo in there really wants us to stay out.""But—"

"Please, Quatre. It's out of our hands."

"But—"

"Quatre!" Trowa stopped ushering the young blonde towards the Jeep and turned him around. "What would it take to shut you up for two minutes and think about this? There's _nothing_ we can do. I know you think we're turning our back on them, giving up, but we're not. All we can do is wait."

"Until when? Until midnight and they die?"

"No one said anything about dying—"

"I did!"

"No you didn't. You said—"

"Blood shed, Trowa. My friends, our friends, are in great danger!" Quatre's azure eyes were pleading with Trowa to do something, to figure something out because he didn't have any ideas left.

"Quatre." Trowa's voice was calm and quite, almost begging. "Quatre, please. Just...let's go get something to eat and think about this. We'll come back, I swear. I won't leave them here, but you need to calm down."

"Trowa...I won't...I just can't..."

Growing frustrated, Trowa placed his hands on Quatre's shoulders and brought his face closer.

"I promise you that we'll come back. Let's go get some food, see how Wufei's surgery is going and then come back. But you, right now, need to leave this place. It's not good for you."

"You're always taking such good care of me." Quatre's lips attempted a feeble smile.

"I know."

And with that, Trowa closed the distance between them and captured Quatre's worried lips in his.

XX

"The surgery went perfect, no complications at all which is wonderful since he wound was so close to the artery. He's a little drowsy right now, but he keeps calling for you. Normally we ask that the patient be left alone for a while, but you can go see him if you wish."

"Of course I wish!" Meilan stood up and followed the doctor into Wufei's room.

Lying prone on the hospital bed, wrapped in thin, hard sheets in a blue and gray striped hospital gown was Wufei. His eyes were closed but his lips kept moving slightly, as if whispering to someone. Beeping boxes and bags dripped all around him as Meilan approached, clutching her purse close to her chest.

"Oh, Fei." She took the seat next to the bed and reached out for his hand. "It's okay now, don't worry. I'm here."

XX

"Heero, I'm _STARVING_! Omigaud, I'm so hungry I could eat my own leg." Duo reached for his ankle, pulling up his pant leg and exposing the white flesh underneath.

"That would end badly." Heero reached over and pried Duo's hands of his ankle before he damaged himself.

"But my stomach is eating itself! I'm so fucking hungry!" Duo's whining sounded very close to crying. "I'm _never_ skipping breakfast _ever_ again."

"Why? Just in case you get stuck in another haunted house that doesn't provide food?"

"Exactly!"

"Inadvertently, you just implied that there's life after tonight. But look at this," Heero smirked and drew his attention to the day's events he had written out when Duo gave him a nasty glare. "I used to think that Parthenia killed Carl, but now I'm not so sure. Looking at all of this, it just doesn't make sense. Carl's father may have killed him. He knew he was sick and dying and probably didn't want a gay son running the estate when he was gone."

"What evidence do we have for that?"

"Just as much evidence that I had for my previous theory. Nothing but these diaries and my guesses. We need another clue…something, anything. If there is a spirit in this house willing to help us, just give us another damn clue." Heero ripped his page out of the diary and then threw it into a box.

Then, as if some phantom actor was waiting for its cue, an apparition floated into the room. Heero went cold and rigid, still not used to the ability to "See."

"Heero? Heero, you okay? Is it happening again?" Duo scrambled over to his frozen friend and tried to make eye contact, but Heero's eyes were wide and almost unseeing.

Carl's semi-solid form took a seat at the end of his four-poster and seemed to be motioning for someone to follow. His raspy voice, being heard for the first time, was strange to Heero's ears.

"Come sit down...We need to talk...Don't walk away from me!" Angry now, Carl got to his feet. "Don't you talk to me like that you ungrateful slut!" Realizing the emotional pain he had caused whoever he was speaking to, Carl's eyes softened and he outstretched his hand. "...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it...Look at me."

The odd thing was, every time Carl's speech paused his lips still seemed to be moving, as if he was mouthing a word or a phrase without actually speaking it. Heero tried to read his lips, but they moved oddly, as if they were being visually distorted. It was as if Heero was watching a movie and there was a small crease in the reel. Then, just like every other phantom, Carl's glittering form vanished as quickly as it appeared and Heero could no longer hear him.

XX

"I'll have the chicken burger with fries and gravy, please, and he'll have the Quiche Loraine with a poutine." Trowa handed the menus back to the young plump waitress in a blue shirt while Quatre mournfully sipped on his iced tea.

"Sure thing." The waitress continued writing on her note pad as she walked away from the table, pacing the order on a spinning wheel behind the counter. "Order!"

Quatre seemed to slink further into the diner bench with every passing second. Every once and a while he'd glance guiltily out the window into the distance where he knew the Baxter Mansion, and his friends, were.

"Quatre, they have to figure it out on their own. We can't help them. I've been thinking about what happened before. We weren't meant to get into the house, that's why we got kicked out. Wufei was brave to join Heero and Duo by climbing through the window, but look what happened to him. He's being punished, and Heero was punished for trying to leave. You just have to have faith in them that they'll figure it out."

"And what if they don't?" Tears were brimming in Quatre's eyes as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What if we never hear Duo laugh again, or hear Heero's little grunts when he's agreeing with us? What if we never see Duo's smile or—"

"We will, because they're both smart. Heero is super intelligent, and you know that. Heero won't let anything happen to Duo." Trowa reached across the table and pulled Quatre toward him, looking him dead in the eyes. "We're going back to that mansion at midnight, and at midnight Heero and Duo will be outside waiting for us, got it?"

"But—"

"NO buts...at all!" Trowa was starting to get angry. Yes, he was worried, but he had total confidence in Heero and Duo. His main concern was getting Quatre to relax, and then the simple answer came to him.

"Trowa, I just—mmf!"

Slipping his fingers into Quatre's baby-soft blonde hair, Trowa pulled his head toward his own, silencing Quatre's concern with his lips, and slowly pulled away.

Quatre opened his eyes, not even remembering closing them, and blushed. He looked around the diner and, much to his embarrassment, saw a few people staring at Trowa and him.

The plump waitress, who had walked by them to clean a table, had stopped almost next to their table. "You just made my day."

Trowa, beginning to blush, turned away from her just as Quatre leaned in for another soft kiss, sending goose bumps to travel down his spine.

XX

"Woman...I'ng jusss fffine."

Meilan threw her head back and laughed. "Wufei, you're stoned out of your mind on painkillers and anesthesia! This is hilarious; I'm not going anywhere."

"There'ssss nothf-kin wrong wifff mee." Wufei attempted to roll over, turning away from Meilan, but his leg gave a sharp jab of pain and decided against it. He settled for a turn of his torso, and crossed his arms and looked away. He felt very indignant at the moment.

"Yeah? Say seven slippery snakes without slurring." Meilan couldn't help but grin.

"Sssshut-up! I'ng tired now, sssso go away!"

XX

"Heero? What was it?" Duo knelt in front of Heero, trying to look into his eyes as Heero continued to stare at some unseen apparition.

"Carl was talking to someone. He wanted to talk to someone, but they didn't want to. Carl called them an 'ungrateful slut'. I think they got into an argument then."

"But you don't know who he was talking to?"

"No. It's weird. I couldn't hear him speak when he said their name, and I couldn't read his lips either. They were distorted."

As soon as Heero said this Duo's eyes went blank and he could once again see a glimmering figure walking towards them. Kallias slid across the floor with his arms outstretched. Heero saw his lips move but heard nothing. It was weird, but he seemed incapable of hearing Kallias speak, which only meant one thing. He was talking to Duo and Duo alone.

"Duo?" Heero reached out for Duo's hand and tugged a little. Duo was nonresponsive and Kallias was getting closer.

Duo could feel the coldness surround him as his hair stood on end. He could hear nothing but silence, then someone spoke.

"_Please. He was so cruel to me all the time. There was no escaping him. Please release me."_

"Duo?" Kallias was getting closer still and Duo seemed not to even notice Heero. Seeing Kallias's fingertips reaching out for Duo, swiping at his braid, Heero reached out and pulled Duo toward him. The braided boy fell limply into his lap and Kallias vanished once again. "Duo? Can you hear me?"

"Nnnnn...wha?" Rolling over in the pillow-soft lap, Duo stared up into Heero's face. It took him a second to register than his head was resting on Heero's thigh before he sprang back up and uttered a quick apology.

"What did he say?" Heero asked urgently, waving Duo's apology aside.

"The usual." Duo blushed. His head had just been in Heero's lap and that was enough to get his schoolboy hormones raging. He felt the need to giggle, but resisted it. That sort of behaviour couldn't be explained away with a lie.

"What exactly?"

"Erm, well, you know, let me release him and shit about how Carl was mean to him—"

"That's it! That's who Carl must have been talking to!"

"But, Heero, we already knew Carl was mean to him. Carl could have been talking to anyone. He seems like he was a bitch. Anyway," Duo stood up, wanting to change the subject for a while. "Shall we poke around again and try to find food? I'm seriously considering eating my leg."

Heero shook his head while Duo grinned. In the face of adversity, all Duo could think about was food.

"Okay, we'll go look for food."

"Sweet!"

"_My wounds cry for the grave_

_My soul cries for deliverance_

_Will I be denied Christ_

_Tourniquet_

_My suicide"_

**TBC**

**Author's Note:** I know this one's super short, but it's a quick update so :P! Lol. I have so many reviews! Okay, well, not "so many" but it's more than I could ask for. I'm so super ecstatic that you people like my story! One more chapter to go! I know. Wow. I feel a great sense of accomplishment looming in the air, even though it's only seven chapters. I've never finished a story so this really is something for me.

Again, thanks to my wonderful beta who can walk now. (Knee surgeryouch!) Woot. Okay::goes off to finish the story:.


	7. My Last Breath

**Summary:** Alright, Duo and Heero are "antique rescuers" for a museum that houses belongings of the socially "royal" deceased, meaning those individuals who had great social status and were important benefactors of the town in which they resided. However, the new house they are assigned to is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Carl Baxter, the deceased head of estate. Craziness ensues when Duo finds a mysterious painting of a boy, Quatre starts entering trancelike states and Heero starts hallucinating, or is he really seeing ghosts?

**Warnings:** AU. OOC. (Look, if it's AU there is going to be some OOC to an extent because they're no longer the same character). Yaoi (meaning gay relationships), 1x2x1 and implied 3x4 & 5xM, dark, angst, violence, implied sex (past-tense rape), death, language…Oh, and it's a song fic…but you don't have to read the song lyrics if you don't want to. And there's some original characters in there.

**Disclaimer:** I do _not_ own the Gundam boys, nor do I really want to. Honestly. Everyone says they wish they owned them, but then everyone would be coming to me to buy them from me. I wouldn't get a moments rest. So, no, I'm not making profit off this. And besides, borrowing them from time to time is just as fun as owing them, I would imagine. I also don't own the chapter titles. They're the name of the according song in the chapter, all owned by Evanescence. OH! And you may find traces of a small mini-series called Rose Red and a PlayStation 2 video game Fatal Frame (I and II). However, I do _not_ own them, either. I don't even own legal copies!  
**HOWEVER**, I do own my original characters. Any character that does not appear in any series, movie or manga is mine. Yes, that's right, all M-I-N-E.

* * *

**Haunted Essence  
By Praevisum**

_"Hold on to me love _

You know I can't stay long

All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid

Can you hear me?

Can you feel me in your arms?

Holding my last breath

Safe inside myself

Are all my thoughts of you

Sweet raptured light it ends here tonight"

**Chapter VII: My Last Breath  
**

"Omigaud! FOOOOOOOOD!" Duo ripped the wrapper off the yellow cake and shoved it into his mouth.

"Personally, I've never considered Twinkies food, but when you're as starving as you said—"

"On'd gif ed minkey!" Duo shouted around a mouthful of icing oozing cake.

"In English?" Heero cocked his brow, waiting for a translation or, knowing this house, a Duo Dictionary to appear out of nowhere.

With great effort Duo managed to swallow the Twinkie and glared at Heero.

"I said, 'don't dis the twinkie', geeze. I'm not that hard to understand." Rolling his eyes, Duo reached for another Twinkie and shoved it into his mouth.

"Wanna bet?" Heero, somewhat reluctantly, reached for the massive pile of yellow cake rolls and unwrapped one for himself. He took a bite and swallowed, then wished he hadn't for he now realized just how hungry he was himself, and took a bigger bite.

"'Air muft de a dillon winkies!" Duo swallowed another mouthful and shoved yet another Twinkie into his trap.

"Well, a rough estimate puts me at about fifty thousand, not a million."

"I saf a dillon!"

"Duo, please, stop talking with your mouth full."

"Finb." Duo swallowed then opened his mouth wide, as if waiting for Heero to inspect it. "Permission to speak?"

Heero shook his head as he took another Twinkie. "Sometimes I don't know how I put up with you."

"Same here Mr. Moody-Pants." Duo placed his hands on his hips as he raised his brows at Heero.

"I am not moody!" Furrowing his own, Heero crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at Duo.

"You're worse than a woman."

XX

"Oh, hi you two. He just fell asleep again. He was up for quite a while, but those drugs they keep giving him have finally kicked in."

"How did the surgery go, Meilan?" Trowa asked, walking into the room where Wufei lay peacefully on a hospital bed and Meilan sat by his side.

"Good, real good. He has to go through some therapy because there was some muscle damage, but you know Wufei. If he has his way he'll be walking around tomorrow. Where's Heero and Duo?"

Trowa and Quatre shot each other nervous glances. Meilan was their friend, Wufei's soon-to-be-wife, so Trowa thought it was only fair to tell her their friends' fate…even if he doubted she'd believe them.

So, sitting down in a chair beside Meilan, Quatre tenderly sitting on the edge of Wufei's bed, Trowa began to tell the whole tale starting with the phone call for the assignment. He left out no details, except for the moment he shared with Quatre in the diner. When he finished, some half hour later, Meilan sat with her mouth open and her eyes wide.

"I knew there had to be some explanation for how a screwdriver was wedged into Wufei's leg. This is unbelievable! So, they're _trapped_, you say? This is serious, isn't it? Wow. We have to do something."

"That's what Quatre keeps saying, but I told you, the site was already demolished. I doubt there's anything there to access, really. I'm sure it's just all an illusion. And, as I've told you, 'Wufei' already made an appearance, then imploded. So, someone's making it impossible for us to help. There isn't anything we can do, at all."

XX

"Why don't you like Twinkies!"

Duo's sudden shout startled Heero and he looked toward his friend, not sure why Duo had suddenly yelled at him.

"I just don't. I didn't know they were that important to you."

"You hate them!" Duo shouted, throwing a Twinkie at Heero who caught it with fluid grace. "You hate Twinkies, you hate _me_!"

Heero wished Duo was joking, that any second his angry features were going to soften and he would smile, saying laughingly, "just kidding". But he didn't and Heero knew he wouldn't. This was another attempt to separate them.

Indignant, Duo threw another handful of Twinkies at Heero, who couldn't dodge them all gracefully, and stalked toward a door that appeared on the wall where a refrigerator could have been. Knowing what would happen if Duo went beyond that door without him, he charged after him and grabbed the end of Duo's braid just as he pushed against the door. Wheeling around, Duo threw a punch at Heero, who successfully dodged it. Duo then began a full out assault on Heero, who blocked and dodged everything with perfect ease.

Heero spun around Duo and, tripping him carefully, brought Duo down to the hard floor without hurting him. Duo began thrashing about, clawing wildly and madly at Heero. Grabbing his wrists, Heero pinned Duo to the ground underneath him.

"Duo…Duo, I know you can hear me. I need you to calm down. Look into my eyes, and calm down." Heero tried to make eye contact with Duo, who kept thrashing his head from side to side. "Duo, please, look into my eyes." Taking a risk, Heero let go of one of Duo's wrists and grabbed his face, holding it still and forcing his navy irises upon him.

Duo calmed instantly, relaxing into the floor and looking perplexedly at Heero.

"Why…are we on the floor? Or is it even worth knowing at this point?"

"You threw a fit." Heero got to his feet and extended his hand. Taking Duo's and pulling him to his feet, Heero watched as Duo dusted himself off. "You were really angry at me for disliking Twinkies. You accused me of hating you."

"I…what? Wow, that's stupid. I'm sorry." Duo blushed slightly, both at the thought of how ridiculous he must have been and at the thought of having Heero pressed so firmly against him on the floor.

"It wasn't your fault. Let's go." Heero motioned to the door they had entered.

"You don't want to explore what's behind door number two?" Duo asked with a smirk.

"I don't trust that door. Let's just go back."

"Fine, but let it go down in history that I, Duo Maxwell, was not afraid in the face of adversity, that I wanted to challenge door number two and that you, Heero Yuy, were too pussy."  
Heero stopped in his tracks and whirled around. Staring from Duo to the door, and back again he sighed.

"Fine, fine. You want to go off exploring, fine. However, let it go down in history that if anything happens I, Heero Yuy, told you so."

Duo smirked and turned back toward the door. With trepidation, and a racing pulse, he approached the wooden swinging door and, with a glance back at Heero, pushed his body weight against it. Nothing. It didn't budge one bit.

"It…won't…move!" Duo grunted between shoves. "Help…me…Heero."

Heero was getting quite bored of this house and the games he was being forced to play. He would much rather sit down and sort out the situation, find a loophole that would get them out of the house. However, he never rejected an opportunity to indulge Duo so, rolling his eyes, he helped the braided youth push. It only took one heave and the door swung open. Both boys began to fall and, panicking, Duo reached out and grabbed Heero's shirt. They began to slow down, floating to a halt and landing quite comfortably on the sofa in the study.

"FINE!" Duo shouted at the walls. "I didn't want to know what was behind that door anyway!"

"Why would the house want us here?" Heero stood and paced the study looking for clues that they may have overlooked before. He stood in front of, what he assumed was, Carl's desk and stared at the locked drawers. He had seen a key that may have matched those locks in Carl's room. It was in one of the boxes in the closet, wrapped in a linen cloth.

"Duo, let's go."

Heero's voice was so curt that Duo didn't even question where they were going. He stood and followed Heero through the hallway, up the stairs and into Carl's bedroom. He waited patiently as Heero sifted through the boxes trying to locate his treasure and didn't even say anything when Heero took a key out of a linen cloth. He followed Heero back to the study and stood by the desk while Heero inserted the key into it. With a turn of the key and a click it unlocked and Heero managed to pull the drawer open.

"But, how did you know?" Duo asked.

"I just knew. I'm not sure how."

Heero proceeded to unlock and search every drawer. The majority of what he found were legal papers, bills and property documents. However, when he came to the bottom drawer, he noticed that it wasn't as deep as the others. After tapping on it, he knew.

"There's something hidden in this drawer." Feeling for a catch, Heero's fingertips touched a dip carved in the back of the drawer and stuck his fingertip in it. He pried the board off and removed it.

The drawer was almost empty. There was a single piece of parchment inside with tight and scribbled handwriting on it.

"It's not English." Duo leaned over Heero's shoulder and read the paper. "_Efil lanrete evah lliw luos esohw eno eht si, thgil on dna sworros sah ohw, dereffus_…Heero, this is so not English."

"No…it's English, look. There," Heero pointed to a word on the second line, "that says 'on dna'….those are English words. But, look at it as a whole. _Efil lanrete evah lliw luos esohw eno eht si, thgil on dna sworros sah ohw, dereffus sah ohw, thgindim ta nediam eht sllik ohw eno eht. Efil lanrete evah lliw luos esohw eno eht si, etips sselicrem dna egnever dloc fo tuo, thgindim ta nediam eht sllik ohw eno eht_. It's some sort of code." Heero flipped the paper around in his hands.

"Are you sure?"

Heero sighed. "I'm so stupid. It's backwards!"

"What?"

"Listen. _The one who kills the maiden at midnight, out of cold revenge and merciless spite, is the one whose soul will have eternal life. The one who kills the maiden at midnight, who has suffered, who has sorrows and no light, is the one whose soul will have eternal life_. It's a spell."

"So, Carl and Kallias weren't the only ones who were murdered then?"

"I guess not."

"What doesn't make sense to me," Duo began, "is if this is a spell, and let's say it worked, then someone has eternal life. I haven't seen anyone with eternal life walking around, have you?"

"Maybe no one tried the spell or maybe it didn't work. Personally, I don't believe in spells and magic."

"Heero Yuy! If you don't believe in spells or magic than what the fuck are we doing in this house?"

"I don't know. I'm tired." Heero pocketed the piece of paper and walked over to the sofa. He sat and stared at the floor for some time before leaning to one side and lying on the couch.

"Mind if I join you?" Duo walked toward him and sat in the remaining space. "I'm sorry, Heero. I've been really hard on you today. I just want you to know that, if we don't get outta here, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't try harder."

"It's not your fault, Duo. It's neither of our faults." Heero breathed in and out, and could feel his heavy eyelids beginning to close. Glancing at his watch, and knowing there wasn't much time left, all he could do was lay on the couch and let his eyelids droop.

_Heero walked down a dark tunnel, and could hear loud voices arguing. Shouting. Crying. He knew it wasn't his place. He knew he should turn and leave, but his curiosity kept his feet moving. He approached the mouth of the tunnel, and an earthen room lay ahead. Shadows danced all about as flames flickered in candleholders. He reached the edge. If he made one more step he would be visible to those in the room. Boldly, he slowly poked his head around the corner to peer into the room. The sight that greeted him made him sick.  
_

_There, splayed out on a bench, bloody arms dangling off the edge, was a beautiful girl with long raven hair and dead mahogany eyes. Her pale skin looked cold, and her parted mouth seemed to be whispering words no one would ever hear. Underneath the bench were grooves cut into the floor of which this poor woman's blood now flowed.  
_

"_What have you done?" The angry voice cried out. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"_

_Heero dared to peek his head further into the room and gasped as he saw Carl and Kallias staring at the floor. It was then Heero brought his attention back to the ground and noted that the cut out grooves actually formed a symbol. A pentacle.  
_

"Heero. Heero, wake up. It's late. It's really late." Duo's gentle voice reached Heero in his dreamland and pulled him back to reality with a jolt. He snapped away and was immediately alert. "Heero, it's eleven thirty." Duo's worried voice didn't seem to affect Heero.

"Follow me." Heero stood up and grabbed Duo's hand with his bandaged one. He dragged him down the hallway to the door at the end where previously the kitchen had been. Now, as he pushed against the knobless door, a descending staircase greeted him. "C'mon."

"I'm not going down there. Wasn't that a kitchen?"

"Don't bother asking questions about this place, and you're going. We don't leave each other, remember? I need to see if it's down here. I had a dream. You listened to me before, about the key, just trust me."

"I don't like the sound of this," Duo whined as Heero descended, still attached to his hand. "I don't like this at all. Remember what happened last time I followed you and there were stairs involved? You almost got squished."

"Shh!"

Heero led him down the cement stairs, and down an earthen tunnel. Duo had the distinct feeling they were underground, which they shouldn't have been because the stairs they traveled down weren't that long. However, at that point, Duo gave up on all sanity and decided that the house could do whatever it wanted to. He didn't care about logic anymore.

The tunnel was exactly like his dream and Heero almost half expected to hear voices shouting and someone crying as they approached the mouth. But to his disappointment, or relief (he wasn't sure), the room was empty. He crossed it in sheer darkness, having a firm grip on Duo's hand as he whined, and walked over to where he knew the candles were.

"It's too dark so I'm not letting your hand go, alright? But, I need your Zippo." Heero knew Duo always carried it around with him, even though he didn't smoke. He had no real reason to have one. Duo just thought they were cool.

"Ugh…"

"Duo, tell me you have your Zippo."

"Ugh…"

Heero could feel Duo struggling with something as Duo tried to shove his left hand into his right pocket. He just couldn't get at the right angle to grab his lighter.

"I need my hand…it's in my other pocket." Duo went to pull his hand free from Heero's but found he couldn't.

"Neither one of us can see a damn thing so you are not letting go of my hand, understood? I'll…I'll have to get it." Heero could feel his voice quaver slightly at the thought of sticking his hand into Duo's pocket.

"What!" Duo's eyes flew open as he stared into the nothingness he was sure was Heero. "We could just switch hands, you know."

"I'm not letting go of you for half of a millisecond, okay? I'm not going to lose you because I was careless."

Duo didn't speak. Heero lifted his arm into the air and wrapped it around Duo, as if they were ballroom dancing. He stood behind him, his front pressed against Duo's back and with his right hand, slowly inched towards Duo's right pocket. His fingertip caught the jean opening and he slowly slid his fingers into the material. Heero's breath caught as he could feel Duo's muscular hip under the thin pocket fabric.

Duo screwed his eyes shut. Normally, having someone's fingers near his groin would tickle. Now, however, having Heero's fingers in his pocket was driving him insane. He was scared that if Heero didn't hurry up, he would unwillingly realize the effect he was having on Duo.  
Enclosing his fingers around a rectangular metal piece, Heero extracted the Zippo and finally breathed again. "I got it." His voice was quiet and a little weak as he lifted his arm over Duo's head and spun him so they were facing.

"Ugh…good." Taking it from Heero's other hand, Duo flicked it open and lit it on his pant leg, instantly bringing light to the dark room and breaking the spell that the darkness and closeness had caused between them.

The soft glow of light was enough to confirm Heero's thoughts. The room was still in tact, and the candles still hung from the walls. Heero went around the room, lighting each one, and one by one they filled the room with light.

"Look. It was in my dream." Heero stood against the wall as he looked at the bench.  
Groove marks were still indented into the ground in the shape of a pentacle, but the horrifying thing was that blood still flowed through the grooves.

"OHMYGOD! Heero! What the FUCK? Tell me that's _not_ blood. Ohmygod, it's blood. It's flowing blood. Where the fuck is it coming from?"

"Her…somehow."

"WHO!" Duo's amethyst eyes were huge as he gaped at Heero, who still held him by the hand even though there was no need anymore.

"I'm sure…in my dream…I'm pretty sure it was Carl's sister."

"Parthenia?"

"Yeah. Carl and Kallias…they were standing right here, staring at her as her blood dripped into it. I'm sure whoever killed her killed Carl…and maybe Kallias too." Then, as if a light went on in Heero's head, he cried out. "The spell! Parthenia! She's the maiden that was killed at midnight."

"But Heero, how is it that the blood is still here?"

"Blood...blood, Duo! Quatre said at the stroke of midnight there would be blood shed!" Heero's mind was reeling as all the pieces of the puzzle began to click into place. This was the final clue he needed! He silently thanked whoever showed him the vision while he slept.

"So, what's your point?" Duo looked around disgustedly, trying not to gag on the smell of aged blood and the something else that lingered in the air.

"My point is that this is it. Blood shed was a clue. If we can get the blood to stop flowing before the stroke of midnight, then whatever sacrifice was made here before won't be repeated."

"I…are you sure?"

"Positive. Now, in my vision the blood was coming from Parthenia. She was lying on that bench and she was bleeding onto the floor."

"This is her blood!"

"I'm guessing. Carl and Kallias were standing around her. One of them was yelling 'what have you done?' so obviously one of them killed her."

"Yeah, but which one?"

"I don't know. I've never heard Kallias speak. It…it may have been Carl speaking. But then, why would Kallias kill her if he loved her? That doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't make sense is the fact that the blood is _still_ here. _THAT_ doesn't make sense. But it's here!"

Heero's eyes traveled around the room, looking for a possible source or a tool. Then, his eyes resting on the candles that filled the room with a soft glow, he knew what needed to be done.

"Duo, here's the plan, we're going to take a candle from its holder and bring the flame to the blood. We'll burn it."

"Burn it?"

"Yes. I'm not exactly sure what will happen then. But, we'll go check to see if the door is back, together. Just in case this doesn't work, I still want to make sure that we're not separated."

"Okay." Duo went to walk to one candleholder while Heero went to walk to another. It was then, during a small jerk, that Heero realized he still held fast to Duo's hand. Duo could feel Heero's hand begin to slip away, but he didn't want it to. "It's okay. You don't have to let go."

Heero's eyes met Duo's and it they just stood in silence until Heero moved toward him, embracing him tightly, cheek to cheek.

"I have no idea what's going to happen and I know I've promised to get you out of this house. I'm almost at an end, but no matter what Duo, _no matter what_, I swear to you I'll do whatever, and I mean _whatever_, I have to in order for you to be free of this place."

"Heero," Duo buried his face into Heero's neck. "Don't say that. Don't say whatever like that. There's limits, you know, to what people will do—"

"For you I have no limits. For you I am boundless. For you…I'd give up _everything_."

"Heero." Duo could no longer speak. A great lump rose in his throat and his eyes prickled with burning tears. It didn't matter anymore, if it was platonic or romantic, but he knew Heero loved him and that was all that he needed.

XX

"Trowa," Quatre begged, tears in his eyes and streaking down his pure flesh, "Trowa, it's quarter to twelve. We have to do _something_!" Quatre sat in the passenger seat of the jeep, bandaging Trowa's hand.

Meilan had sent them off to the mansion once again in hopes of somehow finding a way to rescue their friends. However, the gate into the mansion had sealed itself, and when Trowa tried to pry it apart, his hands began to burn. It was lucky he always kept a first aid kit in the back of his jeep.

"Quatre, I've tried to do _something_ but there's _nothing we can do_! We just have to wait."

"I'm tired of waiting!" Quatre's sobs grew in volume as he threw himself around Trowa's neck, crying into his shoulder. "I'm so worried. I'm just so worried. I hate being this helpless! Their lives are worth so much, and we can't do anything to save them!"

"I think, Quatre, that this is a testament of their friendship. We can't save them because we're not allowed. They have to save themselves."

XX

"Are you ready, Duo?" Heero stood on the outer rim of the diagram inscribed on the floor whilst Duo stood in the center. "You have to make a run for it, or you'll be trapped in the flames."

"I know. Let's do this!"

"Okay," Heero stood with stock determination on his face, "on three."

Duo nodded as he took a stance similar to Heero's.

"One…two…three!"

Duo brought the candle down to the blood and touched it with the flame. Instantly, the crimson liquid ignited and the flames flared. Duo dropped his candle and ran as the flames Heero set began to engulf the entire pentagram. With lightning bolt speed Heero ran and caught up with Duo at the mouth of the room. Slipping his hand into Duo's, he held tight and led him out of the tunnel, back up the stairs and to safety.

They burst through the door and stood in the hallway.

"NO!" Duo cried out, kicking the wall.

The door hadn't appeared.

"Goddamn it! Motherfucker! Sonofa bitch!"

Heero's heart sank as Duo's temper rose. He was positive he had it figured out, that they were free. What more did he need to do? What more did this house want from him? How else was he supposed to get Duo to freedom?

With a defeated sigh, Heero grabbed Duo's hand and calmed him, leading him to the study. The large grandfather clock read five minutes to midnight, and he was out of ideas.

"Duo, I don't know what else…Duo?"

Duo stood rigid in his spot, eye glazed over and cold, his mouth hanging open. He didn't even blink. That's when Heero saw Kallias standing behind Duo, arms outstretched and fingernails six inches long. He was no longer the solemn phantom roaming the halls, but a vengeful villain. He shouted out loud and for the first time Heero heard him.

"_I…want…freedom! I will take what is mine! IT WILL BE MINE_!"

And, like a Medusa's crown, Kallias' braid frayed out and whipped around his lithe shape as, hands out and teeth bared, he lunged for Duo's vulnerable body. Panicked, Heero also lunged and managed to grab Duo, shielding him from the intangible figure that desired Duo so much. With his back to Kallias, Heero held Duo possessively to his chest. Duo's eyes fluttered upward and were lost to a universe of blue. Reaching up tenderly, he lightly pawed at Heero's cheek, causing the other boy to smile.

"Duo? You're going to be alright. I'm not going to let—"

As he spoke Kallias wound himself around Heero, coming up to his side and again lunging at Duo who clung so desperately to the man that held him. Before Heero could jerk himself and Duo away, Kallias billowed upwards, honed in and dove down into Duo.

Wide eyed and frightened, Heero could do nothing as the body he held began to convulse violently. Duo's eyes rolled into the back of his head as the clock in the hallway chimed once…twice…thrice….

"God, no. Duo, please!"

Five, six times it chimed.

"DUO! PLEASE!" Tears began to streak down Heero's porcelain skin as Duo's shakings increased steadily. The body he held was thrashing in his arms, kicking and flailing madly as his jaws chattered away against each other. A low rumbling gurgle escaped from Duo's parched lips.

Ten. Eleven times….

"FOR GOD'S SAKE DUO! PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE! Please!" Heero's desperate pleading continued as he dropped to his knees, weeping against Duo's face. Heero knew that in one more chime he would lose Duo, possibly forever.

The last deafening chime billowed out of the grandfather clock. At the sound, all the dust in the room settled. Every noise in the house settled. Duo's seizing settled. Fearfully, Heero opened his eyes, face backing away a few inches, and stared at the still features in front of him.  
Duo's eyelids cracked open and, with a large gasp, he inhaled with the mighty power of the lungs of a god. With trembling hands, Heero removed the few stray strands of hair that threatened to fall into Duo's glassy eyes.

"Duo?"

Quickly, with reflexes of a mountain lion, Duo swiveled in Heero's arms, enabling him to sit on his bottom, and wrapped his arms around the other boy's neck, bringing him closer. Without a second thought he meshed his lips against Heero's as he began to sob.

An intense wave of euphoria enraptured Heero and his entire body was tingling with over-stimulation. A bright light blinded him as his breathing was rushed; he could feel every molecule of air slip out his nose and dust his top lip and Duo's. Every sound and every sensation was magnified to almost an unbearable level where Heero thought his mind would implode. Then, in the half second it took to get him high, it all began to slowly dissolve though lingered in his foggy mind.

"H-heero! Heero, oh god. Oh, god. Heero I…I…"

"Duo?" Heero's eyes lit up and sparkled as he realized the boy who clung to him was still Duo. "Wait, where's Kallias?"

"AAHH!"

An anguished cry echoed down the halls, sounding much like a tortured banshee. Instantly, a form materialized in front of Heero and Duo, much more solid than any before. Duo gasped in shock as he, for the first time, laid eyes on the boy who tried to take him over.

"Kallias, that's enough." Heero disentangled himself from Duo's arms and stood, sheltering the boy. "You're not taking Duo. You're dead; he's alive. There's nothing you can do about it."

"At the stroke of midnight!" Kallias broke down and began to weep unearthly tears. "I killed her at the stroke of midnight! Why? Why have I not been given eternal life! Why am I not free of this place? Of him?" Kallias sneered at a large form in the hallway, Carl. "This is not the life I sought! I never wished to be his servant. I never wished to be his whore!"

A hoarse voice, one that seemed not to have spoken in quite some time, filled the air.  
"Your _soul_ was given eternal life, Kallias. You have done this to yourself. By killing my sister, and then me, your punishment of death and your wicked magic has condemned you to walk this earth for all eternity. And, for that, I am sorry." Carl, glimmering faintly, appeared at Kallias' side and placed a hand on his arm. "It is my fault. If it were not for my selfish ways you never would have sought revenge. I wronged you, so many years ago and for so long. I would apologize, but my words cannot express the sorrow I feel for hurting the only one I loved. You were pure, and I tainted you."

Duo, by this point, had stood up and pressed himself against Heero's back, peeking over his shoulder to watch the scene before him.

"You never loved me. YOU USED ME! If you ever loved me you would have never _forced_ yourself upon me! I never loved you. I never even _liked_ you! You have done this to me. You have done this to me."

"You did it to yourself." Heero stepped forward. "How can you expect us to feel sorry for you? What Carl did to you was unforgivable, but for you to kill his sister for your own selfish act when you claimed to loved her, and to then kill Carl…you deserve the misery you're in. If you ever loved Parthenia you _never_ would have harmed her, _ever_!"

"What do you know about love? She rejected me because I was his servent, because he raped me! She loved me until she saw us together!" Kallias's angry tears stained the floor as he turned to Carl. "She hated me because of YOU!"

As Kallias spoke, his figure began to fade, and Heero could smell smoke lingering in the air.

"What is going on? What have you done?" Kallias turned angrily toward Heero.

"I broke your spell. When all the blood burns out you'll disappear."

"No more suffering is needed." Carl took a step toward Kallias. "You grow weak. Stop your magic and let them be free."

Heero and Duo both turned in unison to the hallway as they heard a latch click. Heero helped Duo to his feet and helped the exhausted youth to the hallway, leaving Carl and Kallias behind. To their amazement, they were astounded to find the door of which they originally entered the mansion back in its place, as if it had never been removed.

"Well?" Duo smiled.

"Well." Heero nodded and reached for the knob, twisted it and pulled. A rush of fresh air assaulted their senses as the smell of smoke grew stronger. They stepped out into the cold night, hand in hand, feeling that life was going to be good from there on.

XX

"Trowa! Trowa look! Trowa! It's Heero and Duo! They're okay! They're alright! They're out of the house! Oh, Trowa, look!" Quatre's joyful cries could be heard calling Heero and Duo from across the lot.

"Um…Heero…about…in there…when I…and you…and we…"  
Heero stopped moving once again and pulled Duo into a tight embrace.

"Yeah, what about it?" He was once again cheek-to-cheek with Duo and all Duo could do was sigh. "Don't tell me you didn't mean to."

"No…I meant to. I really meant to."

"Then what's the problem?"

Duo blushed as he buried his face into Heero's neck. He wanted to ask him so badly.

"Can…can I do it…again?"

"No." Heero pulled away slightly, looking Duo in the eyes. "I want to this time."

_"Closing your eyes to disappear _

You pray your dreams will leave you here

But still you wake and know the truth

No one's there

Say goodnight

Don't be afraid

Calling me calling me as you fade to black"

**FIN.

* * *

**

**Author's Note:** Well, gang, it's been a long and gruelling road, well…at least for me. This marks the close of Haunted Essence. I can't believe I'm finally done. For a while it didn't look like I'd ever make it here, but I have. (And now Nobara can stop complaining!)

I'd like to thank everyone who's read and reviewed and bookmarked my story. It is so amazing to know that people actually enjoy reading my work possibly as much as I enjoy writing it. I'd especially like to thank **BlackRain88, Diva-Elf, Dragongirl 85, Futile Faith, jess-eklom, Keiran, Longsama, priscel, Ravid284, Ryeka, Shaeric Draconis Thornangel** and **Kimpatsu no Hoseki, Lost-Remembrance, Crazy, Kyouka, moonsnite, okie-chan, silvershadow, ZannaBO, Inguz, Ameki-Elisa, Duo'sLilsis, El Terrible Fizzy, Wolfkun, Lady-Firsselle, Lolly sister** and **Aquarius**. (And any other reviewers I forgot.)

I'd also like to thank my beta **Humphrey** (**Reve**) for her hard work and dedication to me and this story. (OMG, I'm sounding like I've won an Emmy. Somone shut me up!)

I'm in the process of thinking up another plot. However, now that I'm in University I seriously, seriously have no idea when I'll actually be able to put pen to paper again. But, in the mean time, I'm just so thrilled that so many people have enjoyed my story and to whoever reviews this after it's posted, I thank you too.


End file.
